Out of Place Out of Time
by Krazykandyman
Summary: When the Team is sent to bring back a long lost hero, only trouble can follow. Will things ever be the same for the soldier and will there be frienship and romance on the way? You know there will be.
1. Chapter 1: A Hero

**So I have this story stuck in my head and decided to make it part of a new story**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or any DC affiliated stories**

**"When a good man is hurt, all who would be called good must suffer with him." -Euripides**

A Hero's Belated Return

Mount Justice: September 8, 09:42 NST

The Team was assembled in the main room standing in front of Batman, both Green Lanterns, Captain Atom, Aquaman, Red Tornado and Black Canary. Since the League members not including Batman, Black Canary, and Red Tornado ever appeared regularly on Mount Justice it piqued the Teams interest at the new mission.

"Yesterday at 03:00 a team of scientists studying the effects of the melting of the polar ice caps off the coast of Svalbard discovered the remains to First Lieutenant James Stephen a.k.a Mr. America." This was followed by the computer changing showing side to side photos of a young man with brown lush hair, blue eyes and a well tone body. Another photo came up showing said man dressed up wearing dark red gloves with a dark navy blue military jacket. He also wore a standard issue military helmet with goggles over his eyes. On his waist he wore a belt with a silver five tipped star as the buckle with a holster for a gun on the left and a pouch on the right.

"Mr. America?" Kid flash smirked.

"What is with that tacky outfit?" Artemis asked.

"Never heard of him." Robin remarked. This was followed by the Team talking amongst themselves on who this guy was and why he was such a big deal.

All talking stopped when the Team noticed the glares they were getting by not just the Batman but also Captain Atom and the Green Lanterns. Their glares were not on par with the infamous Bat-glare but it was close enough to shut the teens up.

"Mr. America can be considered America's first super hero. During World War Two the Axis powers were pushing back the Allies. What was really pushing back the Allied forces was Nazi troops using advanced technology. It was believed but not proven that the Third Reich ordered the research of non-traditional military technology. It is believed that the weapons that the Nazi's were using were non-terrestrial in origin." The Team were surprised by what Batman had to say at this new information, but still failed to understand the importance of it.

"In 1941 the U.S. had a secret project known as Project Juggernaut. Polish scientist Jeffrey Langemeier devised a serum that would enhance a human's performance. Increased strength, reflexes, speed, not to mention hyper-regeneration this made the serum all too tempting." Hal Jordan continued from where Batman stopped. "In 1942 the experiment went into its testing phase, using a then Private James Stephen, a young man from Chicago, IL." A photo of a scrawny brown hair teenager then popped up on the screen. The Team at first didn't understand the importance of the kid until they noticed that he looked slightly familiar to the buff soldier from before.

"Are you telling me that, that teenager turned into a super soldier?" Wally asked in disbelief.

"I don't understand, it says here that he was only 15 when he enlisted. The army wouldn't have took him in since he was underage right Batman?" asked Robin getting a nod in return from his mentor.

"That is correct Robin. It seemed at the time Professor Langemeier believed that a good soldier had to be one who was more willing to sacrifice himself rather than gain glory and age did not matter in that. Stephen became the prime candidate when during a training exercise on a military base, Stephen stopped and helped a comrade who injured himself to complete the exercise. This selfless act drew the attention of Langemeier. After the procedure his appearance changed he was promoted to First Lieutenant, and was given the name Mr. America."

Captain Atom stepped forward and continued from there. "After the procedure, from what records showed Professor Langemeier took Lieutenant Stephen to a meal where after a toast of brandy the Professor died. Examinations showed that the brandy the two men were drinking was in fact poisoned, but due to the Lieutenants regenerative abilities the poison was broken down and became harmless to him."

"You mentioned that he was considered the first super hero. What did you mean by that?" Superboy asked. Batman answered the question typing in something on the computer and footage began playing.

"When Mr. America was sent over to Germany, he and seven other men were sent behind enemy lines to investigate a possible enemy weapons depot. Not only did Mr. America and his men find the depot, they also destroyed the compound and attacked an enemy P.O.W. camp. The next morning Mr. America came back to the American camp along with over two hundred Allied troops. He became a national sensation overnight." At this claim everyone was deeply impressed and shocked at what this soldier did.

"In 1943 near the ending of the war in Hamburg Germany, American troops attacked a weapons factory led by Mr. America. As the battle ended up becoming a war of attrition, Mr. America was able to bypass the battle and right into the enemy factory." Batman then began to play yet another video of said battle while turning back to the team while they watched the film. "It was there that Mr. America radioed that the enemy was planning to send out bombers to America from that particular factory. The Lieutenant did what he did and before the bombers could take off blew up the factory. The explosion broke apart the land and caused majority of the structure to fall into the North Sea. The Lieutenant did not make it out." There on the screen the Team and the League members watched as several of the American troops cheered followed by many bowing their heads in silence realizing what the cost might have been.

"An investigation team went to the remains of the factory and found that the bombers routes were to America. The targets being New York, Chicago, Gotham, Central, and Washington." The Team were shocked by this information. In fact they were shocked throughout this entire briefing. "The investigation team also uncovered the design of the bombs the enemy was planning to use. Thanks to modern day research we believe the bombs were nuclear in nature." Yup, the Team just couldn't stop being shocked.

"From what information we could find, the Lieutenant's body was on top of some debris and his body merely floated along the coast until it went Nouth where his body fell in to the water and over time froze along a glacier. He was only able to be identified thanks to his trade mark belt and the color of his uniform." Captain Atom stated. Aqualad stepped forward and asked the question that most of the Team had.

"Why is it that we never heard of a Mr. America until today?" The Team nodded in agreement to the question.

"To the civilians, Mr. America was merely a propaganda tool to encourage enlistment and patriotism back home similar to Rosie the Riveter. As time passed, and new heroes began to appear in the world Mr. America faded out of history and completely forgotten." As Batman finished what he said several pictures of the League and other heroes popped on the screen. "To the military however, he was much more. And now that his body has been found it has become an issue. Since his body was found there has been…..disagreements on who hold claim to the Lieutenant's body. Star Labs, Cadmus, and several American governments want to get a hold on his body. Since the death of professor Langemeier the Project Juggernaut Serum was never recreated and because of the poor filing system that the government had the only proof that the experiment ever existed is now the body of Mr. America. Besides labs and government groups in America there has been an increase of chatter from Rhelasia, Bialya, and several other countries with interest of the body. However, there are still some military higher ups that remembers the sacrifice of Lieutenant Stephen and would like to lay him to rest properly. That is your mission; you are to escort the carriers back to Washington. You are to guard Lieutenant Stephen's body, expect trouble." Batman said with finality. The Team nodded their heads in understanding except Aqualad who looked like he was in deep thought.

"What is wrong Kaldur'ahm?" Aquaman asked his partner in concern.

"It is nothing my King." Aqualad responded, but The League members were not convinced. Black Canary stepped forward and placed a hand on the young Atlantean's shoulder.

"It's alright, speak." Canary said smiling at the young man who she has trained for the past six months. Reluctantly Aqualad spoke his mind.

"I am a soldier, I understand what it means to sacrifice your life for a cause….for your people. To sacrifice it all and to be forgotten…everyone wants to be remembered. And now that he has resurfaced the only people who care are those who wants his body to experiment on…..it is sad." Aqualad said with a sigh as everyone around him softened at his explanation.

"That is why you are going on this mission. Give Mr. America the proper respect and protection. Bring the hero home and let him rest in peace." Hal Jordan said with sympathy in his voice. Aqualad straightened his back and turned to his Team.

"Mission Acknowledged." And so the Team walked towards the bioship for their mission.

Undisclosed Area: September 8, 10:00 NST

Black Manta walked into a dark room surrounded by screens hiding the appearance of each face in a blinding white light. One of the hidden faces spoke up.

"Black Manta, we have a job for you."

**A/N: I just noticed the back story of my OC is very similar to Marvel's Captain America so I should say porps to Marvel and that I do not own Captain America.**


	2. Chapter 2: Pyrrhic Victory

**And I am back, sorry for the wait**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice *cough* or Captain America *cough***

****_"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but to rise everytime we fall" -Confucious_

Pyrrhic Victory

Svalbard: September 8, 12:21 NST

The three hour flight to Svalbard was to say the least boring. The Team knew the importance of this missions, yet they failed to understand the need for six of them to do an escort. If what they heard was that a military escort was being sent bring back the Lieutenant.

"I mean really, I understand the importance of the guy but do we really need so many people taking care of one guy." Kid Flash said for the fifth time in route to their destination.

"As Batman said, there are numerous groups who are interested in the body of Mr. America. That being said, there is no doubt that there will be some who will do anything to get a sample. Escort the cargo and complete the mission." Aqualad said. Kid Flash simply nodded as Miss Martian spoke up.

"Beginning decent in three minutes." Upon landing the Team was approached by a man in military uniform. With all the medals on the man they could tell he was at least the rank of colonel. The man might have been in his forties, but you couldn't tell, he looked in shape for a man of his age. His hair was slowing greying, it wasn't all grey but it was more of a distinguished man who experienced much in life. As the Team exited the bioship they could tell there were more than a few military personnel here. Aqualad stepped forward to meet the man who was most likely in charge.

"Aqualad, we were sent by the Justice League to assist you and your men in the transport of Lieutenant Stephen." Kaldur said as he extended his hand towards the man.

"Colonel Thom, U.S. Army. We appreciate the help though we were expecting a member of the League. Oh well." Truthfully the colonel believed that his men were more than enough to escort Stephen back to America, but orders were orders. Even if they were in his opinion stupid. He also did not know why the League had to interject themselves in this. All he was told was that Batman told the higher ups that there might be some who would try to steal Stephen's body. Honestly Thom felt that the Batman was being an alarmist, but whatever. "As you can see we, are loading the Lieutenant onto the C-27J Spartan aircraft carrier. We will take off approximately in one hour and the flight time will be a little over five hours. Most of my men will be on the plan with the Lieutenant. Your Team will be welcomed onboard, but if you do want to help, I think it would be best if you helped make a perimeter around us."

"Agreed. I will have some of my Team with your men and the rest will be flying separately as a guard." Aqualad told the older man. Colonel Thom nodded in acceptance then walked off to finalize the paperwork for transport. Aqualad then turned to his Team. "Robin, Artemis, and myself will go along onto the Spartan. Miss Martian, Kid Flash, and Superboy will fly along on the bioship. Miss Martian, link us up when we take off" Everyone nodded understanding their assignments.

"_Everyone online?" _Miss Martian asked the team telepathically.

"_Yes." _Superboy responded

"_You know it babe_." Kid Flash said with what he thought was a seductive smile.

"_Wally focus!" _Artemis said glaring at the yellow speedster.

"_Seriously dude." _Robin said with a headache already growing.

"_Good. Everyone remain in contact and alert us if anything happens." _Aqualad told his Team as he left to regroup with the military personnel.

Svalbard: One Hour Later

Aqualad, Artemis, and Robin sat on the plan looking for the first time at the body encased in ice. It was odd to them on how well preserved the body was after almost seventy years of being in water.

"I don't know if I should be whelmed or not." Robin commented skeptically. He saw the file pictures of the Lieutenant but seeing him in person, he just wasn't sure how to feel. Turning his head Aqualad saw many of the men looking at the body of the Lieutenant. What caught his attention were the Colonel and his thoughtful look towards the body.

"Is something wrong Colonel?" Aqualad asked the older man. For the first time since meeting him the Colonel smiled at the hero.

"My father was a private in the army during the war. He served with the Lieutenant, in fact he was there in Hamburg when he went down. I wasn't alive until much later, but my father, he told me stories about Mr. America and how he became a true once in a lifetime hero. It just feels odd meeting your hero for the first time. Even if this circumstance is not ideal, I thought I would not live the day until I saw him." The Colonel's words were heard by many of the men around him and many of them nodded in appreciation to the story. How many people in their life ever meet their hero. This was something you would never forget.

As the group flew over the Atlantic Ocean there was an unseen body under the currents of the water. What it was, was Black Mantas submarine with anti-air missiles.

"Black Manta sir. We are in range of the plane." Said one of the many troops on the submarine.

"Shoot it down." The leader said. The plan was simple enough. Shoot down the plane into the water and kill any survivors while another group took the body. Failure was not an option. Black Manta still remembered what happened at Atlantis and he was still irked by it, and the Light still remembered well his failure to retrieve the specimen.

On the bioship, Kid Flash sat in his chair absolutly bored. This escort mission was way to slow paced and he wished something would happen. Little did he know his wish would be granted. Looking out of the window Kid Flash saw two missles break through the water and went straight to carrier.

"Uh guys" Wally said to Superboy and Miss Martian who both then looked out the window seeing what he saw.

On the carrier Robin was checking his computer on his wrist while Artemis and Aqualad looked over his shoulder. All of a sudden Miss Martian gave them the warning

_Incoming. _The hit rocked the plane flying all those who were not fastened down to their seats.

"What was that turbelance?" Colonel Thom asked getting out of his seat and checking on his men. Mentally an image of a black submarine on the surface of the water appears in their head. Aqualad was the first to recognize that particular transport.

"It's Black Manta. Colonel, please tell the pilots to take evasive maenuvers. Also please open the door so we can try to help" Aqualad said feeling rushed. _Miss Martian run interference and stop any more missles that come our way_.

_On it. _The martian said as the bioship shot two missles out of the air.

"Sir, our engine is slagged. We are losing altitude." Came the intercom.

"Colonel, if we continue to lose altitude we will hit the water and we won't be able to protect you in that situation." Robin said to the older man feling the panic in his voice.

Back on the bioship Superboy and Kid Flash exited from the hole that opened up in the ship and landed on the submarine. Superboy began to dismantle the ship piece by piece while Kid Flash knocked any person coming out of the hatch at super speed.

"Sir, the Laviathan is being attacked by two heroes." One of Black Mantas men told him as he brought up the screen of a black haird boy wearing the Superman shield and a ginger heaired boy in yellow was interfering with his mission.

"Launch the Kraken." Black Manta said. In reality the Laviathen was merely a smaller ship detached from his main ship. As the Laviathen attacked the carrier, the main ship would be hidden underwater and would be launched if any problems would arise. Just like right now. At Black Manta's orders a missle larger than teh rest launched from his main ship going straight to the carrier. The missile held a similar shape, but instead of the usual head it woul have it looked like the head of the missile had teeth attached to it.

Miss Martian gasped as she saw the missile being launched from a different location than the other hsip they were focused on. The bioship was to far and would not make in time before it hit the plane.

_Look out! _Miss Martian mentally screamed as Robin, Aqualad, and Artemis were thrown to the ground from an unknown impact. When they righted themselves up, they saw the warhead stuck through the wall with teeth like a chainsaw.

"A dud?" Artemis asked as she continued to stare at the missile along with everyone else. All of a sudden the chains began to rotate and move forward further into the carrier. The teeth began to rip apart anything in its way whether it be metal or flesh. Artemis cringed as she watched two men who didn't get out of the way soon enough as they were grinded into nothing. The missile stopped once its entire body was inside the plane acting lifeless nut giving off a beeping sound.

"Down!" Aqualad shouted as the missile exploded tearing the plane in half. They watched in horror as the front half began to tear away form the rest of the plane. _Miss Martian, we need a evac imeditaely. _Aqualad shouted mentally. "Colonel, get your men out of here." Aqualad shouted in panic. Colonel Thom nodded as he orderd his men to bail out of the plan.

In groups the soldiers began to take rafts and exited in groups of four. But they were going to slow and were losing altitude to quickly.

"Get the Lieutenant out of here" Thom shouted to the teens as the bioship tried to level out with the decending carrier.

"We get your men out first!." Robin said as he was being pushed by the man.

"Lieutenant first then us." And so the teens pushed the block of ice onto the bioship. As Aqualad was about to go back and help the rest of the men to evacuate, the ship began to break apart. The bioship was forced to disengage from the carrier at its finaly decent.

The Team watched in horror as they saw the plane cartwheel into the water as parts of it were torn apart until finally sinking under the water. Aqualad bowed his head in silent prayer to the lives that were lost. Colonel Thom knew they were not able to make it and prioritized the Team and the Lieutenant.

As the bioship rounded back to pickup Superboy and Kid Flash who were still shocked at the crashing of the plane, unknown to them a large vessel was diving deeper into the waters. After all was said and done over thirty men not including the Team came to escort Liuetenant Stephen back to America, and only twelve supposedly survived. The loss was great. As the bioship began to skim the surface of the water to pick up the soldiers lucky enough to escape, silent tears were shed among the Team.

"We should contact Batman." Robin said quietly to Aqualad.

"Yes…..we need to inform the League and complete the mission given to us." Aqualad said absolutely crestfallen.

**A/N: I was kinda sad when I wrote this chapter. Anyways extra points for whoever figures out what Pyrric Vicrtory means without wikipediaing it...and go...right now...bye**


	3. Chapter 3: Awake & Alive

**Disclaimer: Don't own Young Justice...it makes me sad**

****_"Nothing is so common as the wish to be remarkable" - Shakespeare_

Awake & Alive

Over the Atlantic Ocean: September 8, 16:42 NST

The Team spent the remainder of the flight back to the United States in silence. They all knew the life of a hero included risks and losses, but they never saw nor experienced such a loss until now. The usually talkative Wally was at a loss for words and could not for the life of him find anything to occupy his mind. Artemis for her part sat in silence gripping her bow so tightly that her fingers began to turn white. Kaldur sat in his chair elbows on his knee and hands rubbing his face. As a leader he knew that the success of the mission relied on his shoulders and regardless of how the outcome of this mission ended he still felt like a failure. Dick was silent and was furiously typing away on his wrist computer. No one knew that he too felt the loss and him playing with his computer was his only refuge until he could get away back to Gotham. Megan who sat in the pilot's seat cried silently with tears streaming down her face. As for Conner, he felt the loss, but he was angrier at himself than anything else. Spending a good portion of your life thinking you are a living weapon makes you have a certain understanding of the value of a person. His time with the team changed his view and he started to see people as something more than just expendable forces. And now that whoever committed this ticked him off and he wanted to get back at them soon as possible.

"We are approaching New York City." M'gann said somberly not really paying attention to her surroundings.

"Good. We are to meet with Batman and both Green Lanterns once we land. We will be debriefed once there." Kaldur said steeling himself and hiding his emotions. "Is something the matter Superboy?" Aqualad asked as he noticed not for the first time Superboy looking at the frozen body and had a look on confusion on his face.

"No, it's nothing." Superboy said unconvincingly. What he didn't want to say was that he could hear irregular beats coming from the Lieutenant and just didn't know what that sound was or even believe what it possibly could be. As the Team landed a floating air carrier they were met face to face with Batman, the Lanterns, and several military personnel. With the message given in advance there was artillery all over prepared for anything and anyone. As the Team carried the Lieutenant out, Batman came forward and observed the collected teens that looked worse for wear.

"Good work, leave the Lieutenant here and go inside to rest. Talk to no one." Batman said to the teens showing no emotion but deep inside was anxious. He had seen the looks on the faces the tens showed on many other people who watched a horrific event and being unable to do anything. He empathized with the teens, but his priorities dictated that he go over the soldier's remains and then move on. With a last worried look that did not go unnoticed by Batman, Superboy walked with the rest of the Team. Batman could only wonder why Superboy gave him that face, his experience said that it must be something worth investigating. As Batman looked over the various paperwork he had to go through, the Lanterns went to the frozen body of Lieutenant Stephen and looked at the war hero. From a distance those present could see the tenseness of the atmosphere by how stiff the two stood. Once the League members moved away so that the military personnel could take over, the three adults went to fetch the Team as they sat around in the bioship waiting patiently for their next orders. When Batman surveyed the teenagers he saw quiet contemplation, the usual loud group didn't seem to be themselves. What caught Batman's notice the most was how Superboy seemed to be on the fence about something and how he was internally arguing with himself.

Batman looked at each member individually as if assessing their state of mind. "First of all, good work. You completed the mission even if the outcome was not the most desirable. We do not need to remind any of you that in this type lifestyle we live with risks and sacrifices and not all of them turns out a happy ending. We learn, we get up and move on remembering what we could do to improve future missions. I know that witnessing the loss of lives will not be something you can forget easily. That being said, the League will understand if any of you question your future on this team." At this declaration everyone looked more or less surprised at Batman.

"Is it me or is that a little cold considering what happened today?" Kid Flash asked a little louder than a whisper to Robin who sat next to him. In response he got quick jab in the ribs by the boy wonder and a death glare from Artemis. The resolve of the teenagers gave the League members the answer and they all were happy none of them decided to step out. With a nod Batman looked at Superboy.

"Superboy, there is something bothering you. What is it?" Batman started without preamble as the rest of the group looked towards the clone unsure where this was going. At first Superboy shook his head in denial. For his part he held well against the various stares from his teammates and the Bat-glare. His teammates looked encouraging and a little worried, Superboy has had a history of trying and failing in hiding his thoughts and emotions and then it blowing up in his face later. The Lanterns looked indifferent, but if Batman had to ask the boy publicly, it must be something important. Batman did not break his eye contact with the boy and it was a little creepy. Finally he caved, and with a sigh he started to voice his thoughts.

"While we were traveling here, I kept hearing these irregular beats coming from that Stephen guy. At first I thought it was nothing, you know just background sound. But as we got closer the beats kept coming more and more. I wasn't sure what those beats were, but I could have sworn it was heartbeats." As Conner finished his explanation, his confidence seemed to shrink at the insanity that was coming out of his mouth. Yet again the Team was shocked along with the League members. This was something that they could not take lightly and what Superboy just said was within the realm of impossibilities. Then again, once upon a time the idea of aliens and magic existing was something out of fiction, yet there they were all over the world.

"We will investigate, all of you however will return to the cave." At the end of Batman's command there was an uproar from the teenagers. From various "that's not fair" to "are you kidding me you are treating us like kids again." Batman however did not flinched nor did the Lanterns, though Hal Jordan did look a little more uncomfortable as the shouting continued.

"Batman, this isn't fair, we brought back the Lieutenant, and we should see this through." Robin said as he tried to reason with his mentor.

"No Robin, this is a minor issue that does not require the need of nine people. You have done an adequate job and you should just return to the cave and rest." Even if Batman said this he could read the teenage angst in each of the teenagers. Not waiting for anymore responses, the League members left the bioship and went back to the carrier to observe the doctors.

"We aren't really going back to the cave are we?" Superboy asked while crossing his arms.

"Nope." Wally said while Robin gave his childish chuckle.

"Got that right." Artemis grumbled while Aqualad and Miss Martian stayed silent but agreed with their friends. As Miss Martian lifted the ship, she turned began to fly it towards Happy Harbor but turned it to camouflage mode and turned around back to the carrier.

Back on the carrier Batman and the Lanterns went below deck and went straight to the holding room where the military were keeping the Lieutenant. When they entered the room, they came across eight military personnel and five scientist using instruments on the frozen body.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" John Stewart asked angry at what he saw. The inhabitants were surprised by the outburst and did not even notice the League members were still in the vicinity. One of the scientists walked forward the supposed leader. He had the pompous air of someone who had a massive superiority complex and made it a pastime to belittle those around him. He had a smirk on his face that plainly said that he was not impressed that he was face to face with superheroes.

"Calm down. I am Doctor Joseph Barnes Chief researcher and for all intents and purposes in charge. We are only thawing Lieutenant James Stephen. The heat lamps are on a slow move to ensure that the body gets back to room temperature without major deterioration. Unless of course, you prefer that we bury a frozen block of ice." The way Barnes talked was slow and elongated as if he was talking to someone who couldn't understand him. Everything that he did or said was simply pissing off the League members and they would love nothing more than to punch this man, but they held back.

"THAT, however does not explain the surgical needles and the blood packs." Batman said accusingly. His alter ego has had a history of people thinking him as nothing more than a billionaire playboy and always tried to treat him as a brainless idiot. He knew how to talk to people like Barnes, and what he wanted to know was why these scientists wanted to extract samples from the Lieutenant even though they said they had no plans to do as such. "We were told that we were to just bring him here and you were to bury him. Not experiment on him!"

"Certain interested parties want project juggernaut up and running. Since the Lieutenant holds viable samples, this is the only way. Besides you did what you needed to do, now leave us to our work."

"Who are these interested parties?" Hal Jordan asked clearly not happy with how things were progressing.

"I think that is way above your pay grade." Barnes said snidely.

"Alright listen, why don't we talk about this." John Stewart said trying to ease the growing tension. He could see that some of the military men were cocking their rifles and they would be ready to shoot if things got out of hand. "Let's go outside and talk a bit. The Lieutenant is a war hero and there are other interested parties that want him buried with honors."

With a sigh Barnes look at the three costumed men and began to roll his eyes. "Fine, but once we are done talking you will leave me to my work." As the four men left with three military escorts they went down the corridor to discuss this serious matter. Unknown to them was the fact that through another door six teenagers snuck inside hiding behind various equipment and for a certain Martian's case floating in the air invisible.

_So what now? _Superboy asked as he looked on the scientists who continued to use the thawing device on the Lieutenant. He may not have been conscious when Cadmus worked on him, but all the same this didn't right.

_Now we wait. _Aqualad said with finality as he took in account the scientists and military personnel and calculating the risk they were taking.

_Just great, we risk our necks to bring back this guy so that he wouldn't be tested on and he still gets tested on. Harsh. _Wally thought as Robin placed a hand on the speedsters shoulder.

_We'll make things right. And if Supey is right, I don't think the Lieutenant would like to wake up with guys in lab coats and sharp things going into him. _Robin thought which got nods from his companions and a crooked smile from Wally.

"Body is 67% thawed and will be accessible within the estimated time frame. There is no decay detected in the body, that's good. Hmm there seems to be no sign of any serious damage or frostbite. This body is quite the specimen. Prepare the extraction needle." Said one of the scientist as the other nodded and prepare the machine. Turning to stare at the guard he pointed towards the door. "You will go to the door and make sure no one enters this room unless they are Doctor Barnes or they have our permission." As the guard went to the door the Team inched closer to observe what was going on. Superboy's eyes widened as the beats became more normal and he was sure of it this time, they were heartbeats coming from a dead man.

_I definitely hear heartbeats. _Superboy thought said to the Team and they understood this was serious.

_We should contact Batman._ Miss Martian said getting nervous. This was completely unheard of and she knew one way or another they were going to be in trouble sooner or later. Turning to Aqualad who merely shook his head with a frown.

_No. We will stay here and lay in wait until it is necessary for us to move. _The Atlantean could not comprehend what he was witnessing. Part of him wanted to reveal himself and tell the scientists to stop, yet another part of him knew that stealth was necessary. Especially if danger was involved. Robin on the other hand was more interested on who were these interested parties and how did they get the ability to strong arm the military in letting them extract the Lieutenant's DNA.

"Body thaw is 94%. Begin extraction, and be careful with the tissue, if we damage it it's all our heads." The scientist said with a stiff tone of voice that said he was not kidding about the serious repercussions if they did a mistake. As the scientist approached the body there was one thought that came to his mind. _The body looks so well preserved that it looks like he is just sleeping. _As he reached over to pick up the needed utensils a hand shot out and grabbed the man by the wrist. That hand belonged to a supposedly dead Lieutenant and that officially scared the hell out of the man making him let out a high pitched scream. The scream seemed to draw every person's eyes towards the center where the dead soldier sat up and threw the scientist across the room.

"What the hell?!" Lieutenant James Stephen screamed as he launched himself off the table and then leg swept the second scientist and threw the cart full of medical equipment at the third. Turning he saw three soldiers running towards him weapons cocked. Whether it is by his time as a fighter or if it was sheer battle instinct Stephen ran towards the approaching threat with anger in his eyes. As Stephen charged, he launched himself and did a flying knee right dead center of one soldier and used his momentum to roll out and grab the second by the wrist to toss him into the wall. Turning around he came face to face to the final soldier who seemed to stop and try to figure out what to do. Sadly he did the opposite of what would have been smart and charged the Lieutenant. And with a fluid motion Stephen side stepped to the right and swung his left knee around slamming into the soldier who fell to the ground unconscious with a possible cracked sternum.

"Holy crap!" Wally said in utter shock at how quick Stephen dispatched his opponents. "That guy is pretty lively for a dead guy."

"No kidding." Robin said in quiet awe as the other Team members nodded or did their own confirmation .

Stephen looked at the prone soldiers. He didn't know who these men were or where he was, but he knew well enough that he was in danger and he was far from being out of enemy territory. Shifting his eyes to a stack of boxes he stared intently as if looking right through them. "You can come out now." This exclamation surprised the Team and they did the only thing they could do and walked out coming face to face. Stephen looked at the strangely dressed teenagers and got into a defensive position. A dark skinned teenager wearing an orange sleeveless tight fitting shirt walked forward. What the Lieutenant could not ignore was the fact that the kid had something on his neck. _Gills? _He thought.

" Lieutenant James Stephen, my name is Aqualad, you are safe here."

"Not likely." The Lieutenant said as he charged at the six. The last thing he remembered was being in a factory. Now he was in a lab with soldiers and teenagers, to him, no one can be trusted. With a quick glance the Lieutenant decided the black haired blue eyed male with the S shield on his shirt was the biggest threat and speared him. While straddling him he gave the black haired teenager a quick barrage of punches to the face and was going to do a double handed axe slam strike when he was suddenly restrained by the three other males.

"Please calm down Lieutenant, we are trying to help you!" The dark skinned boy said struggling to hold the uniformed teen back form Superboy. Thinking quickly, Stephen saw that the yellow suited one was giving him a choke hold and reacted with a reverse head-butt causing the red head to release him momentarily. It was however long enough for the Lieutenant to perform a side kick to the caped teen wearing the domino mask launching him five feet away. With his other arm free Stephen grabbed Aqualad and tossed him back at Kid Flash. Free he turned around to the two females, one wearing green all over pointing a bow and arrow at him and another who was floating in the air that was…well she was green. _What the hell? _He thought.

"Lieutenant, we mean you no harm" The green skinned girl said pleadingly

"Speak for yourself." The other one spoke. "Listen buddy, how about we all calm down before I let loose this arrow somewhere nasty?" If the atmosphere could not be more tense in comes in Barnes, Batman, and the Lanterns. Seeing them clicked in the Lieutenant's fight or flight and ran towards the opposite exit. "Wait!" the Arrow wielding girl screamed. "Ah to hell with it!" She said as she launched an arrow after the running soldier who did a quick pivot and caught the arrow in midair then threw it back at Hal Jordan who decided to run after him. Luckily Jordan brought up a green shield to block the arrow, but this seemed to freak out the Lieutenant causing him to run outside.

"Was that who I think it was." John Stewart asked in shock.

"If you mean a human popsicle running away…..then yes" Robin said as he groaned from the sharp pain he felt in his ribs.

"Incredible…I must have him." Barnes whispered who got several awkward stares.

"Priorities first Barnes. And we are far from done with our conversation." Batman said as he looked at the Team. "Go after him, do whatever it takes to stop him but don't hurt him, most likely he is scared and confused. The soldiers on this carrier are more interested in suppressing him, but considering the Lieutenant's training they will have a hard time. Go!" At that the Team ran after the Lieutenant mentally linked.

_Miss Martian, you, Artemis and Superboy are going to run ahead and block off his escape. The rest of us will continue to pursue him. _Aqualad said.

_Mind giving me a lift? _Artemis asked looking at Superboy who nodded and grabbed her to jump of into the distance followed closely by an invisible flying Martian.

"Gotta get out of here." Stephen said as he took out yet another pair of guardsmen when suddenly alarms started to go off. "Great."

"Hands up!" Someone screamed in front of him pointing a rifle at him. The Lieutenant then charged at the man who began to shoot at him. Unfortunately this solider was poorly trained and shot wildly making it easy to duck and dodge the bullets after assessing where he pointed his rifle. Coming face to face with the gunman he knocked the gun out of his hand. The gunman backed up and went for a left hook. Stephen performed an inner block then did a spin to put him back to back and using an elbow strike to the back of the head knocking out his opponent. "How many are there." The Lieutenant mumbled. True he just woke up, but his body felt like it's been inactive for much longer.

"Lieutenant!" Turning around he came face to face with the three teenage boys he fought earlier.

"You guys again. I don't know who you are or what you are, but I am getting out of here."

"Not so fast." Kid Flash said as he ran at a speed the Lieutenant did not expect and was hit square in the jaw for it.

"What the hell are you? Is this how the Germans decided to fight back? Make their own super soldiers?"

"Uh, that isn't true" The speedster said as he went in for another strike but was only tripped over as the Lieutenant jumped to the left and stuck his leg out. Using the momentary pause the Lieutenant ran towards the door to the outside coming face to face with the other oddly dressed teens and the three equally oddly dressed men. Being surrounded on all sides he was nervous, but he had been in worst situations.

"So…one at a time or all at once?" The Lieutenant said with a harsh voice that hadn't spoken in years saying he wasn't scared and was ready to go down fighting. If the situation wasn't so strained everyone present would have been impressed. With arms raised John Stewart walked forward trying to calm things down.

"Lieutenant Stephen, my name is John Stewart and I am part of the U.S. Marine Corps."

"You look pretty funny for a marine." Stephens replied not at all impressed with the former marine

"Well I was part of the marines. Please calm down, we just want to talk. There are some things you have to know." After a moment of consideration Stephen started to calm down when four more military personnel came bursting through the door with rifles Barnes closely behind them.

"Restrain him! He is more valuable then all of you put together." Barnes ordered which seemed to set off the Lieutenant back into a fighting stance. Stephen then charged at the gunmen while the Team and Batman put their guard back up once again.

"No don't! Son of a bitch what are you thinking!" John Stewart yelled at Barnes as he turned back around to see Lieutenant Stephen launch into the air and did a high knee strike to the lead rifleman's face. Turning to the left he did a succession of elbow strikes then grabbed the man's wrist and threw him at the other man leaving the last one looking slightly frightened and ready to shoot. Then with one swift kick disarmed the man and gave the poor fellow a barrage of punches finishing with a round house kick to the man's right temple.

James Stephen was officially freaking out. Military saying they are American and people dressed up in tights, everything was not normal and he just wanted to get out of here and get back home to Chicago. Turning he came face to face with the man dressed in black with a bat symbol on his chest. He didn't know who this guy was but he looked like someone who didn't need a gun to deal some hurt to his opponents. And so it went back and forth between the two combatants with punches, kicks, and elbow strikes. These two were not letting any ground loss between each other.

Batman being the detective that he was just punched and blocked while at the same time analyzing this time warped soldier. _Savate, Muay Thai, Karate and Judo where did he learn all these fighting styles? _Batman thought as he dodged another left hook directed at his face.

"Dude, have you ever seen Batman not beat the crap out of anyone in less than one minute?" Wally whispered to Robin.

"No, but then again Batman is holding back." Robin murmured haughtily while watching his mentor push back the Lieutenant into Superboy who put him in a full nelson. Superboy struggled to hold down the soldier and if it weren't for his super strength he would have lost it. Lt. Stephen did the only thing he could think of and lifted his legs up to push off Batman and used the collective weight to trip Superboy and land on his back to let go. Getting in a crouching position Lt. Stephen turned towards the nearest target which was Artemis and tackled her landing on top pinning her arms. As he readied to punch her out a shadow hung over the two. Briefly distracted Stephen looked up and saw something that made his heart stop. What he saw was the Statue of Liberty in all its glory.

"Wha-What is going on?!" James Stephen removed himself from Artemis and merely looked on in utter shock at what he saw."

"Like I was trying to tell you Lieutenant. We need to talk." John Stewart said as he walked slowly. "You are on United States soil and you have been asleep for the long time."

"How long?"

"Seventy-two years to be exact." Batman said as everyone present watched the teenage soldier's face blanche at such an outrageous answer. "I know that it is not plausible, but I promise that we will explain it to you. Just know that you are back home in America and there are many things we need to straighten out."

"Did- did we win?" Stephen said feeling weak in the knees. It couldn't be true could it? All he could remember was that the factory was exploding. Now they were telling him that was not only supposed to be dead, but also that he is supposed to be this wrinkly eighty something year old man. Stepping forward delicately Hal Jordan placed a hand on the Lieutenant's shoulder.

"Yes, and it was in no small part thanks to you." Jordan said with a smile on his face. Backing away from everyone Stephen started to hyperventilate. Feeling light-headed James Stephen fainted, his adrenaline rush finally subsiding.

"Maybe we should explain it to him later." Robin said awkwardly.

Undisclosed Location: September 9, 9:23 NST

Vandal Savage sat in his table overlooking the news of the world until something caught his eye. The title of the article simply said _**War Hero Returns Home After 70 Years **_this was followed with a picture of Lieutenant James Stephen in his Mr. America uniform.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Perhaps I need to give the Lieutenant a proper welcome home."

**A/N: Hoped you enjoyed this**


	4. Chapter 4: Readjusting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or any associated DC Universe characters and or plots**

**A/N: Alright here is a new chapter for you folks, I swear there will be action next chapter but her eis a character filler chapter, enjoy**

**Also what with the new school semester I will be busy with school, so I will try to update as much as possible but I will go MIA once in a while**

**"The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone." -Harriet Beecher Stowe**

_Readjusting_

**Mount Justice: September 16, 10:14 NST**

It has been a week since James Stephen was found, thawed, and woken up. Nothing about that was right but the Justice League had to figure something out regarding what to do. Doctor Barnes had a tantrum continuously saying that Lt. Stephen belonged to the United States government and had a General in his corner saying the same thing the Team weren't sure how this would turn out. That was until Batman came up with a few legal documents. The usual agreement stated that Lt. Stephen had a choice to leave the service of the United States government which included the disbandment of any claim to his personnel. The one that seemed to steam Barnes was when Batman pulled up a file that stated Lt. James Stephen died 70 years ago and thus legally they had nothing on them. So it came down to Lt. Stephen's decision of either to go with the military and go back into service as a test subject or go with the League members who showed him more compassion than anyone else.

"Dude I'm bored. When are we going to meet up with Stephen and Bats?" Wally asked the Team in general for the eighth time this week. His annoying demeanor was of course understandable. It seemed that the League had to run every test imaginable to make sure that not only was the teenager they were looking at was Lt. James Stephen, but also find out how he survived for so long in a block of ice. A door opened down the hall gaining the attention of the entire Team as James, Batman, Black Canary, and Martian Manhunter walked out of the hallway all looking tired. James kept rubbing his head as he walked towards the kitchen area and got himself a glass of water. It seemed like forever until he realized that the Team were all sitting on the couch and staring at him.

"Hel-lo?" James said in confusion. Contributing factors of exhaustion, and high stress seemed to make him less than he normally would be.

"How are you?" M'gann asked as she floated towards him which seemed to make him flinch only a little. Even though he had spent a week in the presence of the Martian he still felt uncomfortable with such a new world.

"I'm fine, just a little tired." James wasn't lying but there was something else that was bothering him and he has yet to open up to anyone about his inner turmoil. Martian Manhunter knew but it wasn't his place to say what it was. Walking up next to James, Batman looked at the Team all formality.

"James, why don't you go to your room and rest a little bit? Don't worry we will be right here when you wake up." Black Canary said with a reassuring smile that made the Lt. blush just a little as he nodded and walked off. All the guys knew what he felt. Black Canary wasn't too bad to look at and she knew how to be the sympathetic shoulder that made you comfortable.

"Tests showed that James Stephen survived being frozen alive due to his body's hyper regenerative abilities." Batman began as he brought up files on the Lt. "The hyper regeneration stalled cellular decomposition while it slowed his heart rate to a cryogenic state."

"Further examinations showed that his body is above the standard of a normal human male. Files explained that Stephen was able to learn the various martial arts through a special training regime which revealed that his body had a physical memory allowing him to learn movements faster than normal. Martian Manhunter has delved into Stephen's mind and we have validated that he is the Lt. However it seems that the Lt. is also suffering from PTSD and will take some time to adjust to his new surroundings still. Martian Manhunter has assisted in educating Stephen telepathically bringing him up to date of history.

"So he's up to date on everything?" Artemis asked as she stood up and stood next to Miss Martian and Superboy.

"Correct. The League has discussed it with the Lt. and we have agreed that it is not in his best interest to rejoin the army. To stop any questioning or legal issues he will no longer be called Mr. America, but we will have to give him a new name later. With that said we are considering after some more evaluation to have the Lt. join the Team." This seemed to receive mixed reactions from the Team both negative and positive. Kaldur, Robin, and Miss Martian seemed to think this idea positively saying how the Lt. would be a valuable asset or that it would be great to have someone with the Lt.'s experience. On the other side stood Wally, Artemis, and Conner. Wally wondering if the "old guy" can do it to Artemis shaking her head to Conner just looking angry and shrugging (which to be fair could mean anything).

"Given the Lt.'s experience and capabilities he can be an invaluable member to the Team. This is not up to discussion, the League has already decided on this. Lastly, as for him being an "old guy"". Batman then glared at Wally who squirmed in discomfort. "If I remember correctly he was able to fend off twenty people including you." With that Batman turned around and left the Team to discuss things amongst themselves.

"So what you guys got against this guy anyways?" Robin asked as he went to sit down on the couch not looking back at his teammates.

"Come on dude, we don't know this guy and now we are supposed to trust our backs to him?" Wally asked crossing his arms.

"You didn't know me." Conner said quietly which got multiple stares towards him.

"That is true. Perhaps, we should caste judgment when we get to know Lt. Stephens better." Kaldur said as he walked away in an end to the conversation.

As another week passed James ventured out of his room more frequent interacting with the Team. James, Kaldur and Conner seemed to hit it off quite easily once they got past the whole Atlantian and half Kryptonian thing. James was a soldier and if anyone knew him better they would know the guy had a thing for training. Using the weight room or running around Happy Harbor seemed to take the majority of time he had. He would sometimes be seen sparring with Conner or Kaldur under the supervision of Black Canary. Whether it was out of being polite or unable to refuse James sometimes found himself eating M'gann's experimental cooking which sometimes resulted in the need of water or something stronger. Other times they were a success and she would just float away with a huge smile like she won something. She loved how the guy just seemed to have that old fashioned charm that not many teenagers had anymore always saying mam and formal even if she said not to. Wally and Dick spent their time teaching James how to use modern technology. On Dick's side he taught him how to use the computer as well as the finer more fancy functions of said machine. Wally on the other hand insisted on him learning how to play video games which he insisted had an educational purpose that no one has yet found out. The odd one out however was Artemis, she didn't want to train with him nor did she have any kind of interest that she knew of that would be of help like the others. So she would spend her time at a distance doing her own thing, but on occasion would glimpse at the young soldier and be embarrassed when he would catch her doing so.

It was a quiet night in the Cave and Artemis found herself walking around bored out of her mind. Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Robin were out with their respective mentors doing the hero thing. Conner was out walking Wolf and Sphere, and his walk about tend to take much longer than necessary. As for M'gann, she was out with her uncle training her abilities. Apparently being a powerful telepath required a lot of time spent sitting and talking mind to mind, but what did she know. So it came to be a surprise when she walked into the main room and saw that James was sitting at the couch overlooking various files on the coffee table. She didn't know whether or not to walk in and grab a drink as a pretense or just to turn around and go back to her lonely room. Luckily for her, James decided for her.

"Mam, you can come in here, you know I don't bite." James said while rubbing his forehead. Almost three weeks of living in the Cave and the guy still insisted on calling all the females mam, and all the adult men sir. It was way too formal and it annoyed Artemis to no end.

"I thought I told you to just call me Artemis. Not miss and sure as hell not mam."

"I'm sorry. Old habits you know." He said with a lopsided smile.

"Emphasis on the old." Artemis growled which seemed to cause a downcast face from the former Lieutenant "Sorry, that was uncalled for."

"Don't worry." He said in a sad voice as he returned to his papers.

"So, uh what are you reading anyways?" Artemis asked hopeful for a change in subject.

"Well, it seems that Batman and Black Canary are set on me joining the Team. I have no objection to it, but this is all new to me so I am a little nervous. So I thought if I read the Team roster I could get to know you all better and see how I can be of use." What James said made a lot of sense and on closer inspection saw that he was reading bios of the Team along with pictures respectively.

**Name:** Kaldur'ahm

**Alias:** Aqualad

**Designation: **B02

**Age:** 16

**Species:** Atlantian

**Mentor:** Aquaman

**Powers/Abilities:** Hydrokinesis (manipulation of water to create constructs or other manipulations), Electricity generation (generates electricity by tattoos), Magic (Aqualad has minimal experience with use of magic and has yet to practice the advance arts.)

**Bio:** The elected leader of the Team. Highly respected amongst his peers Aqualad has gained a rapport as being an adequate tactician but lacks the confidence to follow through. This lack of confidence has led to him to question his place as the leader and is willing to step down when a more qualified member will step up. As of yet, there is no reason to remove Aqualad as leader as he is doing an above average duty. Highly susceptible to high temperatures which leads to dehydration, also requires a water source to use many abilities.

**Name: **Conner Kent

**Alias: **Superboy

**Age: **Chronologically 3 months, Physiologically 16 years

**Designation: **B04

**Species: **Kryptonian-genomorph hybrid

**Mentor: **N/A

**Powers/Abilities: **Super Strength, Invulnerability, Super Hearing, Infrared vision

**Bio:** Superboy is the clone of Superman created in the span of 16 weeks. Original purpose was to replace Superman if he falls in combat or turns rogue. Like all Kryptonians, Superboy possesses all abilities given to the species from the yellow sun. Superboy has yet to show the abilities of flight and heat vision and it is unknown whether or not he will develop said abilities. Due to his nonexistent relationship with Superman, Superboy has shown frustration regarding him. He is prone to anger and this results in his emotions dictating his actions. Black Canary has volunteered in helping Superboy to manage his anger. Given his state of mind he shows a form of pack mentality that indicates a loyalty to whoever is in this chosen group. Weaknesses are that of any Kryptonian: Red Sun and Kryptonite. Anger management causes him to make him act rashly in stressful situations.

**Name: **M'gann M'orzz a.k.a. Megan Morse

**Alias: **Miss Martian

**Designation: **B05

**Age: **Chronologically 48 years or 16 human years

**Species: **Martian

**Mentor: **Martian Manhunter

**Powers/Abilities: **Shape-shifting, Camouflage, Telepathy, and Telekinesis

**Bio:** Miss Martian is the niece of Martian Manhunter thus having many of the abilities that Martian Manhunter possesses. She has yet to obtain the abilities of density shifting and finer shape shifting. Miss Martian has a lack of experience and her shyness makes her falter in her performance. She however is one who is eager to please and is a quick learner who shows promise. Her weakness is that of all Martians which is high heat.

**Name: **Wallace West

**Alias: **Kid Flash

**Designation: **B03

**Age: **15

**Species: **Human

**Mentor: **The Flash

**Powers/Abilities: **Superhuman speed, accelerated healing, and Superhuman reflexes

**Bio:** Gained his abilities when he reproduced the same chemical reaction that gave The Flash his Super speed. Even though he has the tendency to act in less than serious manner, he does have the experience and the severity when the time is in need. He also has the issue to act before fully analyzing the situation that may result in negative situations. The main weakness he has is his fast metabolism which requires him to consume large amounts of food. If he does not and it has been more than 24 hours he loses energy and quickly burns up.

**Name: **Artemis Crock

**Alias: **Artemis

**Designation: **B07

**Age: **15

**Species:** Human

**Mentor: **Green Arrow

**Powers/Abilities: **Speed, endurance, and strength above that of a normal person due to training. Marksmanship, Acrobatics, Martial Artist, and proficiency in tracking

**Bio:** Has a killed or be killed frame of mind resulting in an aggressive nature along with using force to solve problems. Has a protective nature that at times alienates her from the other members of the Team. Very passionate and opinionated. Weaknesses show that her emotions get the better of her and may cause her to act rashly. Any other weaknesses are that of any other human.

**Name: **N/A

**Alias: **Robin

**Designation: **B01

**Age: **13

**Species: **Human

**Mentor: **Batman

**Powers/Abilities:** physical conditioning, acrobatics and detective skills obtained through Batman's mentoring. Speed, endurance, agility, and strength above an average human. Martial artists, stealth, and marksmanship.

**Bio:** Despite being the youngest member of the Team he is the most experienced. In contrast to Batman's strict demeanor, Robin has shown a lighthearted nature that showed enjoyment in many aspects of his works.

"Hmm, Robin's bio seems to be lacking." James said as he reread the file.

"Thank Daddy Bats. The guy is a freak when it comes to secrecy. You'll get used to it someday." Artemis said as she shook her head and took a seat next to James. Artemis found herself looking at James in fascination. It confused her how a "16 year old" could cause such a fuss, but then again she was part of a Team of ridiculous things. She continued to examine the ex-soldier noticing a small scar just under the left side of his chin from some sort of event in his past. She stared at his blue eyes which seemed to be two different shades of blue. The left was a dark blue while the right was a sky blue shade. She stared until James's eyes shifted in her direction feeling like someone was staring at him which startled the archer.

_Crap! _She thought as she turned away slightly embarrassed that she was caught staring. James had a slight smile which caused the archer to roll her eyes. Turning back to the papers he continued to look through the files. He flipped through the papers until he came across a final page with a short list.

**Potential Members To The Team**

**Name: **Zatanna Zatara

**Age: **14

**Species: **Human

**Mentor: **Zatara

**Powers/Abilities: **Magic

**Name: **James Stephen

**Age: **Chronologically 83 years old, Physiologically 16

**Species: **Human

**Mentor: **N/A

**Powers/Abilities: **Reflexes, Speed, Endurance, and Strength above of a normal human. Hyper regeneration, muscle memory, marksman, and martial artist.

"You know, we have all these files on the computer, why are you reading these files." Artemis asked as she tossed one of the files off to the side.

"Paper reminds me of simpler times. This gives me a sense of normalcy so you can call me old fashioned. On the bright side Robin was kind enough to help teach me how to use the computer and the basic search functions." James said with a smile which made Artemis laugh at him. True he was old fashioned but he had this charm that made him likable.

"Anything interesting that you found."

"This and that…..modern television is…very odd."

"You can say that again." Artemis said shaking her head in shame.

"There was one thing that I did find online and I was hoping I could leave the cave for the day." James said in a not so subtle hint.

"Do you need my help getting out?"

"I would owe you."

"Alright, where do you need to go?"

"Arlington, Virginia."

"Alright…..anything special there?"

"Special to me, you can come along if you want. I wouldn't mind the company."

"Sure." Artemis said nodding her head as she got up followed by James towards the Zeta Tubes.

"So, have you ever considered the silliness of using your real name as your hero name?" James said jokingly.

"Shu-shutup!" Artemis growled having had this conversation on multiple occasions before. She plugged in the code and let the Lieutenant go first as she followed closely behind still hearing the full hearted laugh that disappeared in the beam of light.

**Arlington, Virginia: September 23, 13:11 NST**

The two teens walked down the streets shoulder to shoulder going straight to their goal. Anyone looking at the two would have thought they looked like an odd couple. The brown haired boy looking around in wonder everyone not knowing that this would technically be his first time out and about. The blonde haired girl looking straight onwards minding her business yet her eyes showed a level of discomfort being with the teenage boy.

"So, you plan on ever telling me why we are here?"

"I'm just meeting some old friends." Artemis's confusion soon turned into understanding when the two walked up to the gates of the Arlington National Cemetery. Artemis should have known better, Arlington Virginia is home to one of the largest military cemeteries in the country and the one in Arlington has been like this since the Civil War. Artemis looked at a black and gold plaque that read:

_Here Lies the Men and Women Who Sacrificed Their Lives For a Grateful Nation._

The two continued down the row upon row of gravestones until something caught James's eye and he had to stop. It was a gravestone and the way he went rigid, it was obvious that he knew who ever was buried here.

"Friend of yours?" Artemis asked with sympathy in her voice.

"Yeah, Sid Samburg was a friend. He was only two years older than me but he was a really good pianist. He even taught me some, said it would be a great way to get the ladies." James chuckled and Artemis laughed. James then sobered and had a grim face once again. "He was shot by a sniper right through his chest. The blood loss and the shock made him delirious and kept calling for his mama. The poor S.O.B. died in my arms his lungs filled with blood drowned him."

A couple of more graves and he came across yet another spot. "Heh Sam Garfield, we called him "Cookie" because every month the guy would get a care package filled with cookies. We learned that he had a girlfriend back at home who loved to spoil him. Everytime he talked it would be always how when he got home he would marry his girlfriend." James seemed to close his eyes in contemplation. "He was shot up by a machine gunner, filled him with holes. From what I heard, when they sent his body home Sam's mom begged them to let her see him. The carriers shook their head and told her that it was best that she remember him as he was. What the hell does that mean? That is just a horrible thing to say to a grieving mother."

Right next to Sam's grave was another. "Kyle Pecka, this guy was our C.O.'s pet always sucking up to him. He came from a small town and from what we heard he was his town's hero. The idiot stepped on an enemy mine and blew up. Parts of him flew everywhere. We were only able to figure it was him from his helmet that had a picture of him and his folks. From what I heard his father had a heart attack when he heard the news."

The two continued to walk onward until James stopped at a small row of graves. "The unit I was in charge of, these eight guys were part of it." Artemis looked at these graves then looked at James with a sad look on his face. "These guys relied on me to get them through that hell hole. And me, I relied on them to remind me that no matter how many things I did that amazed everyone felt normal….more or less." James closed his eyes, and the thing that made Artemis feel like she was intruding on something personal was the fact that she saw tears coming down his face.

"James." Artemis whispered as she placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Do you want to talk about it?" Artemis knew that she was the last person you want to talk to in regards to someone's feelings or comfort, so she just winged it.

"I am just wondering why I survived. All these people, they were my world. Everyone that I ever cared about or knew are gone. I don't even know where I belong in this world. Hell, I even looked up my parents in Chicago. They died not even knowing their son was alive." New tears started to be shed as he once again tried to cover his face with his left hand. Looking on Artemis started to put the pieces together and understood. Even if James was a super soldier he still was human and what he was suffering right now was survivor's guilt.

"Did you know my home was torn down and all these buildings were built on it? How crazy is that? It's like history completely wiped out everything that was related to me. I honestly don't know what I am fighting for anymore. Back then it was for my country, but now my country doesn't even remember me and they have new and better heroes. I just can't see a world that needs me." Sighing Artemis looked at James who just looked forward.

"I think what makes things the hardest for me is that I have to have these memories in my head and nothing I do can make it go away. Sometimes I just couldn't go to sleep because I was afraid. I was afraid because everytime I closed my eyes I saw so much." James shook his head with a sad smile on his face.

"James, you know, you aren't alone. You have new friends and you have something worth fighting for now. And that thing you are fighting for is for the world now. And besides have you looked at our Team, normal is a little relative when it comes to us." That got a laugh from James as he stood taller and took in a deep breathe. As if finishing his thoughts, he gave a salute to the graves and turned towards Artemis.

"Are you going to be ok?" Artemis asked regretting asking as if he were to look at her and see a delicate girl being emotional. But when he looked at her it wasn't that, it was just someone with kind deep blue eyes looking at another person as if they were a true confidant.

"I think once I get used to this new world and just accept my place it will get more bearable. It's just, you don't ever get over the loss of the people important to you. You just go on a little longer before you lose it and break down again." Artemis could do nothing but nod at that cold truth. The depressing feeling soon left the two when James put an arm around Artemis in a one-armed hug.

"Thanks for coming with me. I don't think I would have been able to do this on my own. I guess I owe you big time."

"Oh yeah." Artemis said with a smile. Even if she was joking she was also glad to come along to at least get to know James better. Ok so maybe he wasn't so bad and maybe they could get along. He was interesting and considering all the other males in her life he was on the positive side of the spectrum. The two toured the area for another hour before they returned to Happy Harbor and the Cave when they came across the rest of the Team in full uniform along with Batman.

"And where were you two? Don't tell me that you guys were having a date." Robin said teasingly which got the desired result of the two.

"We're not on a date." James said quickly.

"There is no way that I would date him." Artemis said too quickly and shifted her eyes towards James after realizing what she just said seeing a slight hurt look on his face.

_I didn't mean it like that. _Artemis thought as she mentally kicked herself. True it wasn't a date, but it was pleasant. It was the first time in a long time that she felt peaceful. Nothing was expected of her but her companionship. And she knew that what she said was harsh and maybe she really needs to get better at thinking before saying things she would regret later. She'll apologize to James later.

Clearing his throat Batman stared at the collective group. "I am sending you all to Gotham. Clayface has escaped once again and has already begun creating havoc in the city." There was a collective sigh of annoyance. This is the fourth time Clayface escaped his cell and the Team always had to go in and catch him again resulting in bruises, scratches, and walking away smelling like well like shit. So Batman understood why the teenagers did not look happy about this but he also knew that he didn't care what they wanted and not wanted to do. "Find him then capture him, once you do so message the League so that we can take him back to Arkham."

"Understood." Aqualad said as he began to turn with the rest of the Team towards the bioship and Artemis running to get her suit on.

"Before you go." Batman said turning to James. "James, the League has decided to include you on the Team. That being said, Hal Jordan has volunteered to be your mentor and Black Canary has showed interest in help train you while he is busy. This is for you." Batman then brought out a stack of boxes the largest being on the very top then the smaller ones on top like a pyramid formation. James started with the largest box and opened it to show a dark blue long sleeved tight fitting suit. Along the biceps, the thighs, and the chest were wide strips of silver to add some pattern to the uniform. Along with the uniform were black combat boots and black gloves with grip in the palm. The next box held pair of sunglasses with two buttons on the left arm of the glasses and a belt with his signature star as the buckle and the belt with hoops to hold something. The third box held two items both of them pouches. The first pouch held a dozen multicolored balls with buttons. The other pouch was filled with knives all with a small button on them. The final box held two wrist wide bracelets with a red mechanical eye in the middle.

"The suit is a light weight Kevlar, it can withstand a certain threshold of damage but try to avoid bullets. It is flexible and it has the stealth function like the other members of the Team. The sunglasses are mostly cosmetic to hide your identity. However the two buttons allow the functions of night vision in infrared capabilities, the other button allows a targeting system with the bracelets which I will explain shortly. Hold the two buttons down and it will allow you to turn off the lens and retract the rims." Batman held up both of the pouches as looking through them where he then looked back at James and gave him the pouch with the knives.

"The knives can be used either in melee or as thrown weapons. The buttons activates a timed explosion; it has a 5 second delay. The second pouch holds several variations of grenades. The black ones are the standard grenades. The reds are concussive grenades. The blues separates into two halves and sends an electrical discharge that can render the target unconscious. The final one is the yellow that attaches itself to almost any surface then explodes."

"So it's a sticky bomb?" James asked picking up the afore mentioned explosive.

"Sticky bomb?" M'gann asked not familiar with the term.

"We put explosives in a sock and cover it in axel grease. Then we just set the timer off and stick it to an enemy tank or something and watch it blow. You know a sticky bomb." James said like it was obvious even though he got weird looks from the other members of the Team.

"You used your socks?" Wally asked in confusion.

"Anyways." Batman said trying to stop the conversation before it got anywhere. "The bracelets are actually inlaid laser points. These lasers allow you to form shields as well as repulse energy beams from your hands. The beams are set to nonlethal, but they still cause considerable damage. Lastly they also allow you to shoot a thin wire to grapple or wrap around objects approximately 50 feet away from you. The wires are strong enough to support a grown man's weight and can help you to scale heights or bring things to you." Finishing the explanations James began to look through his new belongings and started to put on some parts of his new uniform.

"James. I should also tell you that since you are legally dead, Mr. America is no longer your alias. So Black Canary has decided upon herself to give you a new hero name and Hal Jordan and myself have no issue with it. From now on you will be known as Paladin." James looked at Batman and played the name in his head. At first he felt like the name was too medieval but then the name started to grow on him.

"Protector of the innocent and crusader of justice. It suits you well." Aqualad said as he bowed his head to his new comrade. James then looked around at the other members of the Team and received their own versions of acceptance from Superboy's crossed arm and nod to Robin's thumbs up. James turned over to Artemis who smiled at him which made James feel an odd flutter in his midsection.

_Huh? _James thought not knowing what was going on with him.

"Thanks for accepting me everyone. I promise that I won't slow any of you down."

"Don't worry about it old man." Kid Flash said as he wrapped his arm around the brown haired teen. By now the nickname old man seemed to be James's nickname when it came to the speedster and he just went with it.

"Ready for your world debut?" Robin asked with his signature chuckle.

"You bet." James said as he activated his sunglasses.

**A/N: I have decided that this will be an adventure type story but I do want to put in a romance fling to it. After rereading this chapter I think I am leaning towards Artemis but I am open to suggestions/opinions. Let me know through review or PM**

**This chapter was for my friend who lost his dad, a serviceman 3 years ago in the line of duty. I am not giving a political statement and I don't care what are your views about U.S. military overseas but I ask that you at least give them the respect they deserve. **

**_Victis Honor_~Honour to the vanquished**

**Until next time~ Krazykandyman**


	5. Chapter 5: Experiences

**Some house keeping before we move on. **

**To guest: yes I am aware that my OC sounds like Captain America. In my first chapter I admitted that after rereading the chapter that the character sounded like Captain America. I never intended on it and had half a mind ot scrap this story. But I like this story so far so I will let it grow until further notice**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice**

****_"What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world, remains and is immortal." - Albert Pine_

_Good & Bad Experiences That Last A Lifetime _

**Gotham City: September 23 19:08 NST**

If anyone were to tell James that he would one day fly in a spaceship with six teenage heroes, he would have tied that person down and let him sober up from drinking way too much of the sauce. Yet here he was sitting in a chair staring out at Gotham city with said teens and they were supposed to fight some guy named Clayface. There wasn't much to say within the group and James felt butterflies in his stomach out of being nervous. This feeling reminded him of his first mission as Mr. America. This was not only a mission for himself, but it was also his proving ground to show the world that he belonged fighting alongside the heroes of the world.

"Descending in two minutes" Miss Martian said as they neared one of the waterways that would lead to the sewers of the city that was Batman's territory.

"Miss Martian links us up." Aqualad said all business like. At that James felt a burning sensation in his head which he couldn't describe. Grabbing his head and moaning slightly the sensation slowly disappeared but he still felt a slight buzz.

_What was that? _James thought as he shook his head. Maybe he wasn't ready for a mission so soon if he had this kind of random headaches.

_Miss M's telepathy. You'll get used to it. _Robin thought as he understood James's discomfort.

"Heh, it seems that there are still a lot of things that I need to get used to." James said jokingly as he got a quiet chuckle from his teammates.

_Superboy, Miss Martian and Robin go through the north entrance. Keep in contact if something happens. _Aqualad thought as the mentioned members nodded and they descended towards the entrance. _The rest of us shall take the southern entrance with me at point. Artemis, you will stay in front with me while Kid Flash and Paladin stick to the rear._

_Right. _Artemis and Kid Flash said while James nodded. As the group descended down to the tunnel they walked across the underbelly of the city seeing nothing of interest. James turned on his infrared sunglasses and picked up nothing as they treaded through the waste. A lot of garbage and a lot of rats but no Clayface. It didn't make sense since he was supposedly sighted in the tunnels. So why hasn't there been any sign of him yet?

_Found him!_ Robin thought/screamed as he tried to dodge a swipe coming at his head.

"Move!" Aqualad said to his group as they ran towards Robin's location. When they finally regrouped, they saw that Robin was still running around dodging every attack. On Clayface's side was Superboy who tried with futility to punch out the massive blob and Miss Martian helplessly stuck in his body as the blob man used her as a shield.

"What in the world?" James asked finally seeing this man for the first time. As Kid Flash and Aqualad ran in to assist, James and Artemis stayed in the back as ranged support.

"Can't get a clear shot." Artemis complained as she couldn't get a good shot without harming her Martian friend. James pressed a button on the left side of his sunglasses which activated two square targets. What surprised James more was that when his bracelets lighted up and turned into metal gloves for his hand were the two targets moved where his hands moved.

"Cool." James said as he clenched his right hand into a fist while pointing it at Clayface's head. What he expected was a thin laser to shoot out, instead his hand shot out a large beam of light that literally exploded his target's head. Because of the tunnel, the vibration and sound was intensified making it louder than it really was. The momentary distraction was enough for everyone to stop and stare and even Clayface to release Miss Martian from his body.

"Dude, that was awesome." Kid Flash said as he looked jealously at his laser wielding teammate.

"Who the Hell are you?!" Clayface said as he finally reformed and taking great offense at James.

"Paladin, pleasure to meet you, I guess." James said as he readied his hands for another shot.

"Paladin? Never heard of you. Stupid name too."

"Yeah, I'm the new guy. As for my name, wasn't really my choice. But mull it over in your head for a bit, it'll probably grow on you." James knew that he was just being the distraction and Aqualad and Robin went into the attack with the first raising the sewer water and launch it at his target while the latter threw several exploding robinrangs which just caused craters that quickly refilled themselves. The water pushed him back slightly but since he had no real body he just shifted his body to dodge the water. Superboy and Kid Flash were not having any luck as their hand to hand combat experience seemed to be useless with this type of opponent. Artemis was shooting arrows and Miss Martian was throwing whatever she could lift at the blob. It didn't do much to slow him down. Even James's lasers seemed to be losing its effect since Clayface just reformed quickly afterwards and just kept doing whatever he was doing.

"Suggestions?" Superboy asked quickly losing his temper.

"Got me, I remember him kicking our buts last time." Robin said as he dodged yet another swipe in his direction.

"Got nothing." Artemis said as she tried an exploding arrow which only created a giant split in Clayface's body which he put himself back together.

"How about you old man? I bet you got a lot of sage advice." Kid Flash said as he was launched into the air by a clay tentacle. And so James thought of every tactical advantage they could possibly have against this blob of an opponent.

"How did you guys beat him last time?"

"We did not. Batman at the end had to come in and save us using a high voltage device to subdue him." Aqualad said as he used a water shield to block a clay spiked mace that forced him back.

"So he has a high water volume. I don't suppose you guys got electrical attacks?" At this everyone stopped what they were doing with Robin face palming himself.

"Dude, I thought you were the smart one." Kid Flash accused his friend.

"Yeah, I should have thought of electricity as well. It's an off day for me. Aqualad you got some magic too right? Paladin you too." The three nodded to each other as they ran closer to Clayface who heard everything and became weary of these three teens. Aqualad went to the right while James went to the left and Robin used Superboy to launch himself into the air for a three sided attack. Robin shot his high voltage taser which connected to Clayface's face. Aqualad using Robin's diversion placed his hands on Clayface and let loose with his own electrical attack. James on the opposite side pressed the button on his blue grenade as he threw it and it separated into two halves. The two halves rolled until they landed at Clayface's feet and everyone saw as an electrical current just shot out and just caused Clayface to convulse at the intense electrical attacks. As he collapsed everyone neared his fallen body while still on alert.

"Any suggestions on how we drag big and ugly out of here without him going crazy on us again?" Kid Flash asked as he kicked the clay body only to get some stuck on his boot.

"We could always freeze him and carry him out that way." Artemis said and James shrugged not really knowing of any better way.

"Hmmm, not a bad idea." Robin said as he threw several pellets at Clayface and the group watched as the pellets slowly froze his body. Superboy walked forward and volunteered to carry the body to no one's objection. As the group traveled to the outside, Aqualad pressed his com-link and started to call on the Cave to inform Batman that the mission was a success and that they would await a pickup for Clayface. It would not be more than 15 minutes later that Gotham P.D. would drive in with a canister that would contain Clayface. With their thanks and reassurance that they would try harder this time to make sure he would not escape the police left, leaving the Team to wait for Miss Martian to call down the bioship.

"I think it's safe to say, that this was a successful mission." Aqualad said with a smile.

"Oh yeah, I think this was the shortest mission we ever had involving Clayface." Kid Flash said as he propped himself putting his elbow on Robin and leaning only to be swatted away by said boy wonder. As the Team filed into the bioship, James looked at Gotham and just stared at the huge city feeling like this was what he was meant to do.

"Hey, you coming?" Superboy asked as he waited by the door.

"Yeah, sorry." James said as he ran up and took a seat. The fly back to the cave was non-eventful besides Kid Flash's failed attempts to sweet talk Miss Martian and resulting in Artemis to yell at him. James shook his head as he smiled thinking about what Artemis said and how normalcy is relevant. She was not kidding in the least. For some reason it did not bother him that he was part of a group of super teens. In fact, this felt like what he should have done so long ago. As the bioship finally returned to Mt. Justice and the Team filed out of the ship they were met by Batman and Black Canary.

"Well done on your mission." Batman said stoically. "Aqualad, Robin debrief me on the mission. The rest of you, go get washed up and changed, you will receive an evaluation regarding this mission. You have the rest of the night to yourselves." At that Batman, Aqualad, and Robin left to a meeting room while Wally attempted to get the attention of M'gann, and Artemis and Superboy left to get washed up in their respective showers. As James turned to get a shower he was stopped by a delicate yet firm hand on his shoulder. Turning around James came face to face with Black Canary who was smiling at the young soldier.

"You can stick behind. It's time to do some training since you are still dressed." Black Canary said this with a smirk that led little to the imagination that she meant to make the teenager sweat hard.

"Yes mam." James said as he started to walk back to the main room with Canary right behind him. As the two stood face to face at the sparring circle the computer activated sounding their names and that they should commence. As James put his hands up in a guard position, Canary charged in with a swift kick to the head. James blocked the kick, but quickly realized that the kick was a set up for her to do a spin and do a leg sweep. James was able to jump out of the way then launch himself forward for his own counter attack. With a series of punches, he was able to push Canary back, but she merely swayed left and right easily dodging them without a second look.

"You're too stiff! Come on, how are you supposed to fight super villains if you can't even scratch me?!" James went for one more punch that made Canary dodge to the left, but instead of bringing the arm back as she suspected, he hooked his arm around her head and brought his knee towards her face. With a quick twist and a deflection with an arm she was able to get away with only the knee shoving her shoulder upwards but nothing else.

"Not bad." Canary sad with a smile clearly impressed with his quick thinking and adaptation. She followed up her defense with a handspring and a twist having her legs spin in a helicopter spin and James had to duck before he got a high heel to the head. As the two jumped back from each other, the two stared down not even thinking of moving as they waited for the other to make the next move.

"He's not bad" M'gann said to the Team as they hid in the hallway watching this sparring match without blinking. Almost no one on the Team could go one on one with Canary without taking a hit, yet they were watching their new teammate stand even against her.

"Whatever, the guy is just showing off." Wally said in a whisper as he crossed his arms and acted not impressed.

"He's doing a lot better than you ever have." Artemis said glaring at the red head.

"Please, if I ever got motivated I could take her on. Hello, fastest kid in the world."

"So you admit you need your super speed to be able to take her on?" Robin teased.

"N-no!" Wally said a little too loudly getting a collective shhhhh from the rest of the Team.

_We can hear you. _Canary thought as she glanced at the hallway hiding the teens. _Why do they bother hiding, just come out already. _As Canary glanced back to James she had to take a step back when he ran up to her and did a jump spin kick, then using the momentum a spinning hook kick which she had to jump back yet again. Black Canary went forward with a quick punch which James blocked the attack to only notice that she did a spin to give her other hand a spinning backfist which he had to block with his arm. That was his mistake as she took that chance to grab his left wrist and toss him over her shoulder. What she expected was for James to land on his back. Instead he landed on his feet with his body almost parallel with the ground, and with a roar used inhuman strength to grab Canary and while righting himself up threw Canary over his shoulder. She had enough time to handspring back to her feet. _Who knew the kid had that kind of strength._

"Impressive." Kaldur said to no one in particular.

Running forward James launched forward with a knee attack which Canary moved out of the way and did a series of punches and kicks which were being countered with James's own elbows and knees. James wouldn't admit it, but he was getting winded and Canary sure knew how to beat him senseless. As sweat dripped down his face, a drop of sweat went into his eye and like any other person who had this situation, James had to blink and quickly swipe his face. And that was how it all ended. Canary launched forward and was able to straddle his head with her legs, before the end the two came face to face and James couldn't ignore the smirk the older woman had on her face as she bended backwards and using her weight pulled James forward. As James felt his feet leave the floor and tumbled forward he felt the back of his head landing on the floor and the rest of his body quickly following.

"Fail, Paladin." The computer alerted.

"Lucky him, getting that kind of treatment." Wally said wistfully, which got him stares by the whole Team. "What?"

"Dude…..TMI." Robin said shaking his head while Artemis huffed in disgust as she walked out of the hallway to the main room having no reason to continue to hide. Black Canary helped James up off the ground with a smile on her face.

"Not too bad. I think if we expand your repertoire and clean up your fighting style, you could be even better than me.

"Thanks." James said with a smile clearly liking all the flattery he was getting from the woman. Turning around he saw the Team walking out in their civilian clothes.

"Why don't you go get washed up." Canary said as James nodded and walked past the Team aiming only for the shower. As the rest of the Team filed out they were met with Batman who had something on his mind.

"Miss Martian and Superboy, I need you two for a mission." Everyone was confused with this statement as this was out of the blue and the fact that he needed the two specifically meant it was something serious.

"Just them?" Robin asked his mentor who only gave him one slow nod before he went back to staring at the two before mentioned teens. As Miss Martian and Superboy was left with Batman the rest of the group left to the recreation room to relax with what free time they had.

"The League requires you two to go undercover. You will be taking the identities of Tommy and Tuppence also known as the Terror Twins…." The Dark Knight started.

With the rest of the group they had no real idea of what they wanted to do with the free time. Slowly but surely each of the members decided to go home and see if they could find something to do. Robin left first closely followed by Wally and Aqualad. Artemis however stayed a little longer as James walked out of the hallway and saw the absence of the majority of the Team besides Artemis.

"Where did everyone go?" James asked the blonde who was still lazing about on the couch as if nothing mattered in the world.

"M'gann and Conner are with Batman, some mission that they can only do. Robin, Wally, and Kaldur left for their homes since we have free time. Speaking of which, what are you going to do on your own?"

"Don't know, probably just hang around here. It's not like I have anywhere else to go." James said with a shrug of the shoulders. Artemis's eyes softened a little at that comment. It was true she didn't have a functional family, but at least she had her mom. James on the other hand had no one and even if Mt. Justice had everything someone needed to live, it just didn't have the home feeling.

"Why don't you come with me? We can hang out and you can explore my city? Who knows, we might even get to hang out with Robin if he ever comes out of his Batcave." James raised his eyebrow at the invitation. It was random and well-meant but it was an odd invitation nonetheless.

"Alright." James said as he walked with Artemis towards the Zeta tubes with a bounce in his step. As the two were engulfed in a light, their surroundings changed from the lighted cave to a great city.

"Welcome to Gotham….again" Artemis said trying to play hostess. As the two walked around town, James couldn't help but notice how things were relatively quiet. Sure it was a city, and there were cars all over the place. Yet it seemed that for a city there was little human traffic. "With Batman and Robin always doing their nightly adventures a lot of criminals tend to tip-toe around in this city." Artemis explained. "So….where do you want to go?"

"I don't know, anywhere is fine really. I'm just following." James said politely as he walked side by side with Artemis.

"So, tell me about James Stephen." Artemis started. In truth she didn't know what they could talk about that wasn't related to the whole hero thing and being that he spent the majority of his renewed life in the Cave training, not a lot was known about his personal life.

"Well what do you want to know? You already know I'm from Chicago. I'm 16 and my last job was being an army boy."

"Alright then I can make it up as we go along." Artemis said as she started to think of something to talk about. "Favorite color?"

"Blue." James said as he gave her an odd look.

"Shut up, it's not easy getting to know you. Favorite sport?"

"Football."

"I'm not surprised, favorite kind of food?"

"Pizza and what do you mean you're not surprised?"

"Nothing. Hmmmm, any girl back home?" At this Artemis widened her eyes at the question and James looked at her oddly.

"There was a girl back at home. This was after I 'changed'. But being that I was dead, it didn't work out. Looked her up on our computer. She married, had kids, and died peacefully." James said sadly as he put his hands in his pockets and continued to walk onwards.

"I'm sorry." Artemis said

"It's fine." James said quickly clearly not wanting to continue the conversation. "So, why don't you show me around town. How about your school, or a place to eat?" James said smiling.

"Sure." Artemis replied with a half smile. So the two walked the streets of Gotham ending up first at a diner where they shared an order of fries and their respective milkshakes. They then walked around eventually winding up at Artemis's school.

"So what did you mean by before you 'changed'?"

"Well, you saw my photo before I changed. I was the kind of guy the girl could talk to as the sympathetic ear and shoulder, not the guy you would take home to your parents."

"Must have been lonely."

"You get used to it after a while. Private school?" James asked with a raised eyebrow as he stared at the acdey that Artemis claimed she went to.

"I got it on some scholarship, honestly I didn't really want to come here, but my mom insisted it would be good for me." Artemis said defensively.

"Schoolgirl uniform?" James asked with a smile which he got a playful punch to the arm.

"Shut up." Artemis said laughing. "You're almost as bad as Wally."

"Play nice you two." The two stopped laughing as they heard the voice. Turning around they came face to face with Robin on patrol with his trademark laugh that only intended mischief.

"And how long have you been following us?" Artemis said slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, probably for the last 20 minutes." Robin said with a laugh.

"Not one word." Artemis said as James just chuckled at her. "What?"

"Nothing." James said quickly.

"Anyways, you two enjoy your night, I'm going back on patrol."

"Call us if you need help." James said which he got a nod from the boy wonder before he flew away. "Anyways, back to your town." James said mockingly towards Artemis whose only reply was a roll of the eye and turning away to walk down the street. A short walk later they ended up in a less developed area of the city.

"Anyways this is my neighborhood." Artemis said a little haughtiness in her voice as if she was preparing to defend herself. But did not receive any such response from James as he just looked around like a complete tourist. "Try not to fall behind." Artemis said as she walked on causing James to speed up.

As the two walked on down the street James noticed a newspaper stand and something caught his eye. Artemis was about 15 feet away until she realized that James wasn't next to her anymore. Turning around she saw James looking at a newspaper. Walking back she saw what James was looking at. It was a news article that read: **Bruce Wayne Gives Charitable Donation to the Boy's Shelter of Gotham.** Below the title showed Bruce Wayne and his ward Richard Grayson.

"What's up?" Artemis asked.

"Nothing…don't they look familiar to you from somewhere?"

"The billionaire playboy and his adopted son who basically owns this city? Yeah they are really familiar." Artemis said as she rolled her eyes.

"That's not what I mea- forget it." So the two continued on their way. James taking in the sights while Artemis took comfort in the quiet company. "So I was meaning to ask, but if you are partners with Green Arrow, why are you all the way here in Gotham?"

"That is the beauty of Zeta tubes. I can be in one place and then another in a second."

"That is convenient."

"Yes it is, and if you don't mind don't tell anyone that I live in Gotham or anything okay? It's just easier this way."

"Don't worry about it, your secret is safe with me." James said with a smile that seemed to calm Artemis down just a bit. "Though I don't understand why keep all the secrets, they are your teammates and if you can't trust them, who can you trust?"

"It's just complicated, and honestly there are some things that I prefer to be kept to myself."

"And me." James said with a chuckle.

"And you." Artemis said laughing along. She didn't understand what gotten over her, the old her would have never let anyone in on her private life, yet here she was letting the new guy know some of her secrets for what? So that he wouldn't be lonely in the cave, what a silly reason, maybe there was more to him then she originally thought.

"Artemis?" A voice called from a distance across the street. From the voice Artemis turned rigid as she turned and came face to face with an Asian woman in a wheelchair. James didn't know the relation between the two, but he kept behind the blonde archer and stayed quiet. _Maybe this was what she didn't want anyone on the Team to know about her? _James thought.

"Hi mom." Artemis said with a strained voice obviously not wanting to be there at that very moment. She could swear she felt James raise his eyebrows in surprise at the claim that the woman in front of her was her mother. She was not looking forward to explaining this to him later, but there was no way to hide the fact now.

"Are you back from your practice already?" Artemis's mom asked shifting her eyes to the boy behind her daughter not knowing whether or not he knew about her daughter's extracurricular activities.

"It's alright mom, James is on the Team too. He's the guy I told you about, you know, the ice man." Understanding dawned on the elder woman as she looked over the teenage boy once more but with more interest. If he was who her daughter claimed, he was an incredible young man and from what she heard about him very trustworthy, to his allies at least. "Mom this is James, James this is my mom."

"It is a pleasure to meet you James. You can call me Paula" Paula said as she extended her hand to shake.

"The pleasure is mine mam." James said with a smile as she shook Paula's hand.

"My, who says mam now a days anyways? So charming." Artemis couldn't help but laugh with her mother. Yes he was charming, and as it can be seen, very easy to make friends with his demeanor. "Anyways, I thought I would just see how you were doing Artemis. You take care, you can be a super hero all you want, but I'll still worry about you."

"Mom!" Artemis said in embarrassment as her mother wheeled away laughing at her daughter's expense. Turning around Artemis came face to face with James who was trying hard not to laugh himself. "Not one word to anyone, you got it?" Artemis growled threateningly as she pointed her finger close to James face.

"Hey, I have no family myself so I can't really say anything." James said kindly. "Makes me jealous a little bit." Artemis sighed as she relaxed and continued onwards with James. "I should probably head back." James said after a couple more minutes of walking.

"Yeah, I'll walk you to the nearest Zeta tube." Once again the two walked on in a quiet comfortable silence. This comfort was short lived, like the Batman wearing pink, a crime free Gotham night would never happen. As the two were walking an explosion could be heard throughout Gotham City. Being who they were, Artemis and James ran to the cause of the explosion. They came face to face with the Joker and his henchmen running out of a diamond exchange. With a spin on his heel and his insane laughing the Joker was having the time of his life. What confused Artemis though was that diamonds, although valuable was generally not Jokers interests. So why was he robbing a diamond exchange of all things? "We need to call backup, Robin or Batman."

"Well even if we do call them, this guy will be long gone by then." James reasoned as he began to step out into plain view ready for a confrontation.

"HAHAHA look at all the shinies!" Joker said insanely as he threw a bag full of diamonds in the air. "Oh look boys, we have an audience!" Joker said as he pointed towards James and Artemis.

"Shit." Artemis said clearly not wanting to be caught up in this situation. "What's with the diamonds Joker? Didn't think you were into all that stuff."

"Normally I'm not, but considering that these aren't for me…well let's have some fun anyways kiddies. Youths these days are just too serious!" Joker said as he began to laugh and throw round balls at them with smiley faces crudely painted on them.

"Joker gas, don't breathe in." Artemis said as she started backing away from the green vapor James slowly following her lead.

"What's this?! Don't be a spoiled sport, or else I am going to have to give you a spanking." Joker said as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. It was an oddly shaped gun the handle and chamber itself was normal, but what was odd was the fact that the barrel was at least 4 feet long and to James just plain wrong.

"What's with that gun?" James whispered to Artemis who only shook her head.

"It's the Joker. You kinda stop asking questions about his sanity after a while."

"Now, that's just plain rude." Joker said as he pointed his gun and laughed pulling the trigger. Instinctively James jumped in front of Artemis, but it was for nothing as the gun nearly puffed out a purple smoke. "Oops." Joker said. "Now that's not how it is supposed to work. Come on now work damn you!" Joker began to hit his gun while James looked on confused. As James was lowering his guard thinking the threat was no longer there, he heard a loud pop and a sharp sting in his chest. Looking down James saw a large red stain forming on his shirt. Feeling his legs weaken, he dropped to his knees.

"James!" Artemis screamed as she ran over to her friend.

"Ah, good now it's working, I got worried there for a second." Joker said as he twirled his gun in his hand. As if on cue, Batman and Robin flew from the rooftops and began to methodically take out the Jokers henchmen. While this was happening the Joker made his quick getaway in the car nearby and drove as fast as he could away from the cape crusader and the boy wonder. "Next time Bats!" Joker laughed as the sound of his car faded away.

"James, come on don't die." Artemis had at this point laid James's head on her lap as he was slowly losing consciousness.

"Put pressure on the wound." James said quietly as he coughed up just a little bit of blood which unfortunately splattered on Artemis. "Sorry." He said quietly as he forced a smile.

"Just….shut up." Artemis said quickly losing all calm she had earlier. Robin ran to aid Artemis, while at the same time the Batman was debating whether or not to go after the Joker. However priorities dictated that he should take care of the injured before he ran off.

"Robin, Artemis, take him to Mount Justice now. I will alert Black Canary and Red Tornado that you are coming." Batman said as he walked off placing two fingers to his ears to do what he said he would. Artemis and Robin slowly lifted their now unconscious teammate, and walked/ran to the Zeta tube which was conveniently a block away in the form of an old telephone booth.

"Robin B01, Paladin B08, Artemis B07." The computer voiced out as the three teens came into Mount Justice in a flash of light.

"What has happened?" Aqualad said as he ran towards his friend seeing the bleeding form of James Stephen.

"Later" Robin and Artemis said in unison as they walked past him to meet up with Black Canary and Ret Tornado.

"This way, quickly." Red Tornado directed the group into one of the medical wards. Once they put James down on the table, they were quickly pushed out of the room by Canary who then shut the door on them to their outrage.

"Stop that. Red Tornado and Black Canary need to take care of James and they cannot do their job if you are hovering over them." Aqualad said matter of factly to try and calm down his teammates.

"He's right, we would only get in the way." Robin said finally after taking a deep breathe.

"Fine." Artemis said as she turned around towards the main room to take a seat on the couch to await further news. The red light above the emergency room a constant reminder of the current peril their friend was in. "Where is Conner and M'gann anyways?"

"They are currently doing an undercover mission in Belle Reve Penitentiary for Batman." Aqualad said calmly even though his hands were shaking in worry for James.

"Any clue when they will get back?" Robin asked.

"As of yet it is unknown, but I can only assume it will be very soon."

"That stupid idiot!" Artemis said all of a sudden alarming her two male teammates. "What does he get off trying to be a hero. Jumping in front of me when the Joker pointed his gun, look where it got him." Artemis was very upset and her venting her frustrations was her only outlet, and Aqualad and Robin just let her go on until she calmed down.

"James is a hero Artemis as we all are as well. We protect those that we can; it is what we all do instinctively." Aqualad said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Besides, if he didn't jump in front of you to protect you, you could have been the one to have gotten hit." Robin said sympathetically.

"I know." Artemis said in a whisper as she looked down to the ground and took a deep breathe in to try and calm herself to no avail. After an hour had passed, James and the two league members were still in the room with no change in sight. Robin had contacted Wally of what happened and just like the Flash was there within minutes asking a barrage of questions that Artemis didn't want to answer so Robin had to supplement for her. Artemis called her mother saying that something came up and she got called back to Mount Justice. She did not think it was a good idea to tell her that James got seriously hurt on the same day that she just met him. Another hour passed and yet there was no change. It was infuriating to the teenagers. It was a simple gun shot. How hard was it to pull out a bullet and stitch him back up with a billion dollar medical facility? It would be the third hour into the surgery that finally the red light went off and Red Tornado stepped out of the room. Upon seeing the red robot coming out he was surrounded by all the team members minus Super Boy and Miss Martian and was given a barrage of questions about the state of their friend.

"Paladin is currently resting, it would be best if you did not go in there for now. Black Canary has volunteered to stay with him. It alludes me why she would do so, but I believe that she feels responsible for him since she has become his mentor since Green Lantern Hal Jordan is unavailable.

"Why did it take so long?" Wally asked quickly as he bounced from one foot to another. Turning his head to face the speedster, Red Tornado spoke in his continued monotone voice pattern.

"The wound itself was not damaged and was easy enough to repair. However the problem itself was the bullet. We do not know where the joker obtained such ammunition, but upon impact the bullet fragmented and turned into shards. Furthermore the bullet itself seemed to be laced with a lead based poison which was slowly circulating his blood stream. Upon examination, we concluded the poison was an extract of a plant found in South America and target the internal organs of the body. It took us the extra two hours to remove the fragments and to filter his blood clean of the poison. Do not worry though, he is out of danger and his body has already begun to heal itself. Most likely he will be fully healed within 2 to 3 days." After Red Tornado's long explanation there was a collective sigh of relief from the group. Robin went to sit down on the sofa Kaldur following close behind. Wally ran to the kitchen, realizing that he was extremely hungry. While all this was happening Artemis stayed next to Red Tornado and cleared her throat.

"Can I…..go in and see him?" Artemis said worry in her voice.

"It is unnecessary, Black Canary will be more than sufficient to look after Paladin."

"Please." Artemis asked almost pleadingly. There was a long pause as the robot looked at the archer as if really looking at her for the first time.

"Only for a short while, and do not expect him to be conscious, he is currently in a drug induced sleep." Red Tornado said. No one would know whether it was because Red Tornado was finally acting more human like he wanted to or if he simply found it the most logical way for Artemis to go away. No one knew and Artemis clearly did not care as she walked quickly to the door with a quick 'thank you' to Red Tornado. As Artemis entered the room Canary turned her head to face the young archer with a perplexed look on her face.

"How is he?" Artemis asked not waiting for her reply to why she was there. With a sigh and a small gentle stroked across James forehead, Canary looked onto the young soldier.

"He's fine, but he needs time to recover. Most likely he will not be able to go on any missions for some time, even with his fast recovery ability. You should get some rest, you can't do anything for him right now." Artemis however shook her head and sat next to the other side of James's bed.

"He got shot because of me. I'll look after him for now."

"Artemis, it's not your fault. James did it because he is who he is, he did it because he's a hero. A stupid one, but a hero nonetheless."

"I know, but it doesn't stop me from feeling guilty." Canary had a sad look on her face as she patted the archers shoulder in comfort.

"I need to go report into Watchtower. Can you look after James for now?" Artemis nodded her head as she got comfortable in her seat. Black Canary left the room and headed straight for the Zeta Tube much to the confusion of the Team. She however did not stop nor look at the teens as she went through the beam. Red Tornado had already left to his private sanctuary, so Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad went straight to James room to see how he is. Upon seeing Artemis and James the teens quietly walked into the room as they gathered around.

"How is he?" Aqualad asked taking the opposite side of the bed.

"He's stable, but Canary says that even with his hyper recovery it will take some time for him to fully heal and get back on missions."

"Then it would be best that we left him to his healing." Aqualad said as Robin and Kid flash followed him out of the room. "Artemis are you coming?"

"No, I think I'll stay just a little while longer." Kaldur nodded as the group exited the room. Artemis turned back to James and with a sad look placed a hand on his hand. "You are an idiot, I hope you know that." It would be several hours later that Artemis would fall asleep laying her head down on James's bed. And it would be some time later that Conner and M'gann would return to Mount Justice rightfully tired and also content at the same time.

"Welcome back. I assume your mission was a success." Red Tornado asked the couple as he descended from his private quarters.

"Yes, the mission was a success. Anything happen while we were gone?" M'gann asked as she let go of Conner's hand to his disappointment.

"Paladin was injured in the line of duty and is currently recuperating from a gunshot wound."

"What?" Conner and M'gann asked at the same time in shock.

"He was with Artemis in Gotham City when they ran across the Joker in the process of robbing a diamond exchange. The two approached the Joker and the Joker drew his gun and promptly shot James who was trying to protect Artemis. Batman and Robin shortly afterwards and were able to defeat the Joker's associates. Unfortunately the Joker escaped with the diamonds. James just shortly was treated in surgery and is sleeping in his room. Last to my knowledge Artemis is still in his room with him." At that Conner and M'gann went to James's room without any more waiting. As the two came into the room they came into the sight of James laying in his bed hooked up to a heart monitor. He seemed like he was just sleeping but his face showed a level of discomfort. Besides him with her head laying on his lap and holding his hand was Artemis fast asleep. M'gann had half a mind to wake her up so she could go home, but the teenage girl in her couldn't help but feel like this was a cute scene.

"Come on Conner, let's leave them alone for now." At that M'gann telekinetically lifted a blanket to cover her archer friend and the two left them alone. As the two alien teens left, Artemis sighed as she unconsciously hugged tighter to her human leg pillow.

It was 8:11 in the morning and James woke up in a cloud of confusion as he tried to look around his surroundings. As far as he could tell he was in his room in Mount Justice feeling exceptionally comfortable. With a shook of his head to clear his mind was going crazy as he tried to remember how he ended up in here. Then he remembered, he was in Gotham with Artemis and then they faced off with the Joker, and then he felt a sharp pain where he was shot. Looking to his left he saw an IV drip connected to his arm. The drip read etomidate, an anesthesia to put a person to sleep along a second bag with what read hydrocodone which looked like a liquid pain killer. _They do know that this stuff doesn't work on me that well._ James thought as he remembered how his body broke down toxins down much quicker than a normal person. Looking down, James saw that he was hooked up to a heart monitor with the patches attached to his chest. _Honestly this seems unnecessary._ He thought with a sigh and a shake of the head. But with all this technical equipment he was attached to what really got his attention was the blonde mess of hair that was on his lap. His heart started to speed up which the heart monitor responded to and he felt his cheeks warm slightly as Artemis turned her head slightly to the left. She mumbled something incoherent as she continued to sleep. Seeing a strand of blonde hair cover her face, James had a desire to push that hair off her face and was about to when he stopped and fought hard to stifle his laughter as he noticed a sliver of drool coming out of her mouth. _Wish I had a camera._ James pondered as he stretched his sore arms. Having felt tired of laying there and in all honestly uncomfortable with all the medical equipment attached to him he began to remove everything. He first removed the IV drip, putting pressure on his arm to make sure no blood dripped off. Then without thinking he pulled off the patches of his chest causing the machine to flat line meaning to anyone not realizing he was awake to think his heart stopped. And that was how Artemis reacted when hearing that incessant noise as she bolted up looking frantic as her gray eyes met clear blue eyes.

"Morning." James said smiling to his archer friend who had yet to calm down.

"Morning to yourself." Artemis said as she righted herself up feeling a little embarrassed that she fell asleep like that. Then with determination on her face, she got up and gave James a tight hug close to strangling. "You ever scare me like that again, and I'll kill you myself." Artemis growled as she released him and walked out of his room closing his door a little harder than necessary.

"Message received!" Artemis heard behind the door causing her to really smile and walk away to the kitchen.

**Undisclosed Location: September 24 8:42 NST**

"Vandie ol' boy how are you this fine morning?" Joker said with a laugh and a click of his heels.

"Joker, welcome, I assume you brought what I require." Vandal Savage said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin and pushing his plate of breakfast away from him.

"Of course…a bag of shinies for my oldest buddy." Joker laughed as he threw the small bag of diamonds towards the man.

"Well done. Your payment is in that case. By the way, I heard of your complications and your actions. Although you accomplished our goals, please refrain from doing such things in the future. We do not wish to have more attention than necessary." Vandal said as he upturned the bag and poured the diamonds on the table.

"And how do you know what I did last night. You naughty boy, people might start to think you're a little creeper."

"Need I remind you that we are part of a larger image of our perfect world. Our allies, myself included gave you this mission because you were….the most available to do this. It is only natural that we keep an eye out to ensure that you complete the task and that the Justice League are none the wiser of what was your purpose. And might I add, I can only asusme that the special ammunition that we provided to you came into great resource to you?" Vandal said as he turned and walked towards his array of computer screens.

"Come now, just admit that you care and we can all be a happy family. And oh yes...these special bullets makes it so much more fun, remind me to thank that Hulk of a man Bane for the poison. Now if only we can use my own special mix and these bullets would be perfect for me." Joker said laughing as he picked up the case of money and swung it around in circles. "We're going to have so much fun with this."

"That we are, Joker." Vandal said facing away from the insane clown. _Now, I wonder when I can have our fated reunion, Lieutenant._ Vandal thought with a smile. As Vandal began to press several buttons the screens turned a bright white as dark shapes appeared in each screen. "We are ready to advance to the next stage."

**A/N: If you are wondering, I don't really like the Young Justice version of the Joker. Too serious and too angry. So I think I am leaning towards classic Joker, or even the Arkahm City Game Joker. Hope you enjoyed this chapter so review for me to show your undying love to chocolate. Wait what? The song I was rocking out to while editing this was Hero by Skillet, listen to it it's awesome. See you guys next time...**

**~Krazykandyman**


	6. Chapter 6: In Recovery

**Hello My lovlies and Happy Halloween. I am so sorry that it has taken me forever to write a chapter. School is murder and either you pass or you fail...and failing is counter productive. And what is up with DC Universe...I want my Young Justice back, I don't care about a pixar dragon movie turned into a show. Boooo on hiatus and I want it back...don't care if they want to add in two new shows. Anyways...here is a new chapter for you I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Young Justice...but to be fair if I did I wouldn't be on hiatus and I would have Superboy and Wondergirl getting together...just saying.**

****_"We few, we happy ffew, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother" -Henry V (Shakespeare)_

In Recovery

**Mount Justice: September 28, 13:32 NST**

"I'm so bored." Wally said for the fourth time today as he, Robin, Conner, and Aqualad stood in James's room as he was still on bed rest. Honestly he was fully healed and felt that he could get back to training, but Black Canary insisted that he rest in bed which was as Wally stated, boring. "Come on man, I know you are a soldier boy but break some rules and come out with us. Happy Harbor is just outside waiting for us to just run around; heck you even said you were fully healed. Let' do something."

"Wally, you really need to learn how to control your impulse." James said shaking his head trying to not laugh at his antics. "You know, you guys don't have to include me, I am perfectly fine by myself."

"Come on James, M'gann and Artemis is coming to, so it is just going to be you on your own." Robin reasoned.

"I think I'll pass." James said as he rested his head on the pillow once more stretching his arms. There was an awkward pause in the room as no one said anything. That was, until Wally decided it was time to make some horrible jokes.

"So here's a dumb blonde joke for you. A blonde is driving down the street and is pulled over by a police car. The officer is a blonde and she asks 'license and registration please' to which the blonde that got pulled over didn't know what a license was. So the officer says 'you know the thing that you keep in your purse that you look at and it has your face on it.' The blonde finally understood and looked through her purse until she pulled out a cosmetic compact mirror. After giving the mirror to the officer and the officer looking at it for about a minute, the officer gave it back to the driver and said 'you know we could have saved a lot of time if you told me you were a cop'" Wally finished the joke to the looks of confusion and chuckles of his friends.

"That was horrible man." Robin said shaking his head.

"I don't get these dumb blonde jokes." Conner said to Kaldur who shrugged his shoulders.

"Neither do I." Kaldur said totally perplexed at human jokes.

"Don't let Artemis hear you saying that joke Wally. Knowing your luck, if she did she would 'accidently' shoot you with an arrow." James said chuckling.

"Don't let Artemis hear what?" Artemis said as she came into the room to the look of shock and horror of Wally who tried to slide himself farther away from the door as humanly possible.

"Nothing." The room of boys said in unison which made Artemis raised her eyebrows and then cross her arms.

"I don't know what you guys were talking about, but I am so going to make you guys regret it." Artemis said as she exited the room.

"Thanks Wally, not even out of my bed and I might wind up in it again." James said as Robin cackled in his signature way.

**Undisclosed Location: September 28, 15:15 NST**

"I still think this is a waste of time." Klarion the witch boy said as he poured more power into the diamonds. Along with the Brain and his contraption.

"My dear friend you of all people should know why we are doing it." Lex Luthor said as Ra's Al Ghul and Vandal Savage walked right behind him. Queen Bee was looking on from a chair a distance away, and Ocean was nowhere to be seen. You two are using the modified diamonds to harness enough power to open the portal.

"I know that. I meant why we have to go around like this if we couldn't just make chaos. The witch bot complained.

"Because, we are trying to draw attention away from us." Savage said as he stood proudly on a platform above everyone else as he looked outside a window.

"The problem we face is that not only do we have to deal with the Justice League, but also we have to deal with their teenage associates." Luthor said as he sipped from a wine glass. "We are merely trying to make the playing field leveled."

"Whatever." Klarion said as he poured more magical power, then all of a sudden, a purple portal opened. That was when Vandal Savage walked forward and began to type several buttons with a grim smile on his face. The others closely behind him. Vandal looked over to his associates but addressed Klarion.

"As you know, there are numerous universes. In some, the Justice League does not exist. In others they exist with variants to their world. And then there are ones where the world is the opposite and the members of the League are the destroyers of the world. But they matter little to me. In some universes however, the legends of our world come into real life. Imagine it. A world where the Greek pantheon truly ruled the world with an iron fist. Such a beautiful thing would be preferable." That was when the first item from the portal appeared. It was a Japanese sword which Ra's Al Ghul immediately recognized.

"Ah, Kusanagi-no-tsurugi, once held by the Japanese god Susanoo. The sword is one of three items known as the Imperial Regalia of Japan wielded by the emperors. The power to seal enemies whom it strikes."

The next item that came out was another sword of different make, more medieval. At the realization of what it was Luthor stepped forward and picked up the sword. "Ah, this is of Celtic mythology. Fragarach or The Answerer. The sword was forged by the gods to be able to withstand against any defense along with granting the power of wind to its wielder. An ability few knew from the mythos is that Fragarach when said with an incantation and the point held at the throat of the target, they are compelled to answer any question the wielder has. If they refuse or lie, they die on the spot. Such a fitting name for such a lovely blade." The next weapon to come out was a polearm. Which Luthor caressed with a fondness that a boy would have with a puppy. "Gáe Bulg wielded by the Irish warrior Cu Chulainn. The Polearm was said to have the power to be thrown like a lance. Once thrown, it can penetrate any defense and as long as it strikes its target, it will impale to death."

Savage picked up the next weapon and twirled it around in his hand. "Gungnir, the spear of the All-father Odin of Norse mythology. Thor may have been the god of thunder, but his father held a weapon that shadows him." Handing the spear over to Luthor, three more weapons appeared. "Poseidon's Trident. In the water you can create waves that could drown a city, each strike from it feels like the force of a tidal wave, and each strike on the earth itself causes earthquakes. He may have been known as the god of the sea, but earthshaker is a suitable name as well."

Queen Bee then stepped forward and picked up a bow as if she was familiar with the weapon as she pulled back the string several times. "I grew up reading of the Greek mythology and even I know this well. Apollo's Bow, the weapon that can rain down disease and famine in the Iliad. Now in our hands.

The final weapon was a staff and Ra's Al Ghul took the staff in his hand and smashed the floor creating a crater. "Ruyl Jingu Bang, the staff of Sun Wukong the Monkey King. It is as hard as a diamond and so can never break. But it can change its shape turning into eh size of a pencil or as large as a pillar."

The members of the Light stood looking at the seven accumulated weapons with fascination. "So now that we have these what are we going to do?" Klarion asked crossing his arms and still looking unimpressed.

"We will give them to some of ours and let them create some controlled chaos." Savage said as Al Ghul clapped his hand. The door to the back of the room opened showing Cheshire and Sportsmaster followed by 7 stiffed back teenagers having the quiet stoic look only seen in the military.

"I would like to introduce you to these 7 who I have trained for this purpose alone. They are loyal and will follow our instruction until their deaths. "

"Yeah, but can they be trusted with these new toys? All you know, once they take out who we want they will turn on us."

"Don't worry Witch Boy, they will follow our orders, if not we will eliminate them if necessary, there is always more who the Light can use."

**Watchtower: September 29, 17:23 NST**

"Batman, you called us?" Superman asked as the rest of the original 7 founders walked into one of the meeting room. Superman noticed that not only was Batman there but also Red Tornado.

"Man Bats, you've been in the lab for 3 days, you look beat." Flash commented. In truth ever since the Paladin shooting Batman had been investigating why the Joker would steal diamonds, and wondered the bullets as they after examination looked not like any metal he had seen before.

"Red Tornado and I have been examining this metal alloy that he extracted from Paladin after the Joker robbed a diamond exchange. From our records, this metal alloy does not exist on Earth and so we can only assume that it is extraterrestrial in nature. Although the metal itself is like any other the properties makes it…..troubling."

"What do you mean Batman?" Wonder Woman asked intrigued.

"Show them Tornado." Batman ordered as Red Tornado dipped a cartridge into a canister. "From our extraction, we were able to reformat a viable bullet form the remains taken form Paladin. Tornado is placing the bullet in liquid nitrogen." When Red Tornado took the bullet out the canister was frozen but quickly receded. Tornado then loaded the bullet in a nearby handgun and aimed it at a target conveniently placed 15 yards away from the group. When Tornado shot the gun and the bullet made contact, nothing happened for a moment and then the target started to freeze and then shattered. The entire group minus Batman and Red Tornado stared at in shock. "Whatever this metal is it absorbs anything that makes it stronger. We tested it extensively, the metal absorbed heat, radiation, and several other effects. This would explain why we initially thought that the bullets were laced with poison, but in reality the bullet was poison itself."

"Although it is something to worry about, we have dealt with weapons that we eventually dealt with." Superman said with a shrug where behind him the Flash and Green Lantern were nodding in confirmation. Batman on the other hand was not as confident.

"Clark, if this bullet can absorb substances that makes it stronger even your invulnerability is meaningless. What if they had the bullet absorb Kryptonite?" That sobered up the Man of Steel at what Batman said was true. He was always so used to being able to withstand anything but if a bullet that had the properties of his only weakness, even he had to try and dodge it.

"We will investigate further about this but until we see more of these type of ammunition appear out in the open we can't do much, so keep your eyes open." Batman finished as Red Tornado began typing several buttons and then the screen before them changed to show the diamonds that the Joker stole.

"Batman and I were able to trace the diamonds to their original owners. And to say the least we are worried." Tornado said as he continued to type.

"They're just diamonds, what harm can they really bring." Flash said all cocky, but straightened up when Batman gave him the glare.

"These are not diamonds. These are synthetic isotopes created in North Korea as an alternative energy source. They contain energy at an exponential rate and when harnessed correctly can amplify energy. We were able to break into the records and found that the level of power these diamonds had been high enough that each diamond has enough energy without being amplified to power an entire city for a whole month." Everyone tensed up at the revelation that the Joker and whoever he stole the diamonds for now had a power source at a nuclear level. "We still don't know what they plan to do with them, so I would recommend staying vigilant." Batman finished as everyone thought deep down with worry, just what was the enemy planning.

**Mount Justice: September 30, 00:42 NST**

James had finally convinced Black Canary that he didn't need to be on bed rest anymore and was allowed to go around the cave. Though he was still restricted from team training, he still was able to go and use the gym. Using the bench press James did not hear Conner approach him, so when he looked up and saw Conner's face he almost dropped the bar on his chest out of surprise. "Geez Conner, clear your throat or something. I expected this from Robin not you."

"Sorry. You know, I don't know why you are sneaking late at night to work out. You could just do it at the normal time of day."

"Yeah, but Canary has made it a point to say I can work out but not full weights. Kind of annoys me honestly." James said as he continued to push the bar back up, standing up and taking a large draw from his water bottle he walked over to the pull up bar.

"That seems redundant since there are cameras all over the mountain, so most likely they are watching you doing this at this very moment." At that James stopped and really thought about it.

"Whatever." James said shrugging as he continued. "I want to go on missions and go on patrol but I am getting the red light on both of them from Canary. I am starting to take offense to it."

"Give it time." Conner said reassuringly which got James to give him a smirk. Later that day James decided to take a cycle out onto Happy Harbor with the permission of Red Tornado. Nothing of interest came up until James stopped at a coffee shop to get some caffeine in him. When he finally came out, coffee in hand he heard an alarm. Looking across the street at a jewelers two armed men ran out one holding 2 bags and another holding a woman with an arm around her throat waving his gun wildly daring anyone to do anything. James knew that technically he was still on inactive duty, but honestly when he ever not done something unnecessary if the chance came up has. With a firm decision James put on his sunglasses and ran behind the retreating armed robbers, James still hot coffee in hand threw it at the bag carrier who dropped his gun and began to scream in pain. The other one turned at the sound of his partner's screams and came face to face with James running at him. Before he could pull the trigger, James knocked the man's arm upwards with the resounding boom of the gun upwards. Next, James twisted the man's arm away forcing him to drop the gun and release the woman. James then bumped his back into the man's body and placed the man's arm elbow down on his right shoulder and pulled down. James heard the sound of a pop and the man's arm was dislocated followed by the wails right at his ear. James finished the deed when he brought his left elbow up and did a swift strike to the robber's face knocking him out. When the chaos cleared and everyone realized a teenage boy just saved the day there was a slow tumble of applause gaining strength until James felt a clap on his back. Turning around he saw a man nodding his head smiling followed by another man shaking his hand. James just smiled and tried to walk away until he felt someone latch onto his arm. Turning around he saw it was the woman he saved.

"Thank you. You saved my life." The woman said as James nodded and smiled as he tried to walk back to his motor bike. He was continuously hampered by the woman and anyone else who wanted to shake the kid's hand. You could hear in the background people murmuring about how incredible heroes these days, regardless of who ever they are, they are still everyday people. That seemed to make James smile as he felt his back straighten and finally got onto his bike. As he revved up the bike he rode away back to Mount Justice.

Upon hearing his name from the computerized voice when he reentered the Cave he came face to face with Wolf who wagged his tail and sniffed his open palm which the wolf licked before walking back to the kitchen. Since Conner and M'gann were still in school James went to the small library to read. The first thing he picked up was a newspaper article from Gotham. He was reading an article about Bruce Wayne and his ward Richard Grayson attending a party to help get donations to help the Gotham Police Department. True he didn't live in Gotham and it didn't really matter to him what was happening here at this very moment, but he just could not for the life of him shake the feeling that he met these two before. Realization kicked in as James looked at the two figures in the picture harder. He then grabbed a pen and started to darken both Richard's and Bruce's face. Then he added a cape in the back and put the Batman and Robin insignias on their respective persons. "Son of a bitch." James mumbled as he looked at the pictures one more time. Bruce Wayne was Batman and Richard Grayson was Robin. That has to be a better explanation, but then James started to count the various things that made this make sense. At the end James was troubled that he knew too much for his own good. So he crumpled up the newspaper and threw it in the recycle bin. Pacing for a couple of minutes, he realized he would have to confront both of them eventually but not now. So taking a breathe he walked back to his table and began reading the book To Kill A Mockingbird. James was halfway through the book before he heard the arrival of the two teenage aliens. So closing his book and walking out of the library he went to greet them, but stopped with a smile as he noticed them holding hands and Conner in particular with a smile. _Good for them._ James thought as he walked out.

"How was school?"

"Great, I got out of practice early." M'gann said in her particular cheeriness.

"I'm gonna head to the gym and get a work out before training. James you want to come?" Conner asked.

"Sure."

"I'll make some cookies for you two." M'gann said as she floated away to the kitchen closely followed by Wolf. Conner and James worked out for almost two hours before they heard the Batman's voice over the intercom for the Team to assemble in the main room. Conner and James were the last of the entire Team to meet up there as Batman was there waiting.

"Paladin, am I to understand that you left here to go into town and made a spectacle of yourself?" Batman said looking at the teenager with Canary behind him crossing her arms looking at James a little surprised what she just heard.

"What is this about Batman?" Canary asked.

"Paladin left he Cave into Happy Harbor where he stopped two armed robbers and saving a female hostage. Did you at least hide your identity?"

"Yes Batman." James said resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Were you followed back here?" Batman asked straining his voice.

"Uh, No?" James said slightly confused.

"Are you asking us or telling us?" Canary asked catching on to Batman's train of thought. If James all of a sudden got some publicity and just rode away, there was a chance someone might have followed him. As did Robin as he edged away from James to get out of line of sight.

"No, I was not followed, I am sure." Batman finally nodding turned back to the Team as he began to debrief them, but everyone could tell he was beyond pissed. James was not really listening since he already knew that he was yet to be cleared for missions. The gist of it was that there was a disturbance in Boston and Batman wanted the Team to check it out. "And what about me?" James asked, a little angry that he was once again left behind when he should be out there helping.

"You will be going with me on patrol." Canary said as he walked forward and started directing James away from the group. As the two walked away Artemis looked on the back of James's head pondering if he was just getting claustrophobic being stuck in the Cave all the time and was why he starting to act out. The normal military attitude was slowly disappearing from James and he started to act more like an angst ridden teenager, which she didn't mind but if he ever wanted to go on Team missions she hoped that he could reign in his attitude. That's when Artemis had a plan pop into her head. God willing Green Arrow and especially Batman would allow it. And with that, gaining her courage she walked up to the Dark Knight as the rest of Team walked off to the Bioship.

Meanwhile in Star City Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Paladin were on the rooftops looking over the city realizing how quiet it was tonight. All and all, James was bored out of his mind. Sure, they stopped a few muggings and this and that, but today it was incredibly….boring. Black Canary started to get a little annoyed with James as he began to tap his feet repeatedly. "James please calm down."

"Yes Dinah." James said as he stopped his tapping. He then heard a sound behind them and turned quickly bringing his arms up aiming at whoever it was. He slowly lowered them as Artemis stepped out of the shadows.

"You guys mind having a fourth?" Artemis asked. In truth she already talked to Ollie and he agreed and through the grapevine filled in Black Canary, so the only one out of the loop was James.

"Of course Artemis." Green Arrow said as he turned back around overlooking the city.

"What happened to the mission?" James asked the female archer who took a spot next to him.

"Batman said that they didn't need me for tonight so he let me off. This is way better than just going home and doing homework." Artemis said shrugging her shoulder. Even though James let it go, Artemis knew that he was still suspicious since he kept glancing at her every now and then.

"We got something here." Black Canary started as she was listening in on a police radio. "Prison break, five fugitives, all of them is tagged with life in prison for murder, rape, robbery, and kidnapping."

"So in other words, the normal scum of the earth?" Artemis asked as Canary gave her a nod.

"We'll split into teams of two. Me and Artemis. Black Canary and Paladin." Green Arrow ordered to everyone's agreement. And so the two teams spent the next two hours as they searched and captured the fugitives. What James couldn't help but get the nagging feeling off his back was how Black Canary kept protecting him. Sure she was trying not to make it obvious but it was the subtle things that he could not ignore. How she insisted on taking lead and then when the fighting did start how she would try to take out the guy before he even got close enough to do anything. And then when he did get to get a hit or two in, Black Canary would start to go off telling him how he could have gotten hurt. Honestly he was going insane how Canary was smothering him. What James thought was how he was supposed to be a hero and how Canary kept him from doing his job. She couldn't have it both ways. Either he was her partner and he had a job to do, or he was just someone she was protecting like any other civilian. As the night the neared its end and the escapees were sent back to the prison, the four reunited at the top of a building, three out of the four feeling like they accomplished something.

"So how was your night?" Green Arrow asked Paladin and Canary.

"Same ol' same ol'." Canary said which got a roll of the eyes from Paladin who no one saw since he was wearing his glasses.

"James, maybe we should head back to the cave. You look a little tired." Artemis said as she saw how he just leaned against the edge of the roof. Though what she didn't realize was that her well intentioned comment was what finally set him over the edge.

"ENOUGH! I have had it! The whole night, I was supposed to be part of a team to protect the city but all I got was someone trying to be a mother hen. I get it, I was shot! Congratulations, I survived a gunshot wound it's not my first one so can we please move on from that. I am not some delicate flower that will break because I fight some no named wanna be super criminal. My body was made to heal quickly so I am not hurting or about to vomit blood because this is the first official time I fight crime since the incident. I don't need a babysitter…..I don't need three babysitters!" James said directing that last remark at Artemis, which to her stung as she thought they were connecting and all of a sudden it all fell apart with him losing his trust to her. After taking a couple of deep breathes, James looked at Black Canary. "I thought we were partners, I guess I was wrong." And with that James did a backflip over the roof and shot out a wire for him to swing away from the group. Green Arrow had a serious case of De ja vu as Roy said the exact same thing before he left everyone and went solo. A feeling of foreboding came down on him as he stared at Canary who also had a look of shock on her face. True she had to admit, maybe she was being overprotective of James, but she never had the intention of smothering the teen. True it was her first true partner but she didn't realize that she could have screwed up so badly.

"I'll go after him." Artemis said as she shot an arrow out with a line to go after James. Artemis went from rooftop to rooftop but she lost sight of James. Multiple time she tried hailing him through the earpiece they had, but he never responded. Artemis was about to cross another rooftop when she heard the unmistakable sound of a fight. When she went over to do a quick peek she saw that it was four men against one. Upon closer look she that it was James fighting off the men and a small body mass was huddle on the ground behind James. When Artemis jumped down to ground level she ran up to James and went to help him. James had already taken out two of the assailants and was on his third when he heard a quick whoosh pass his head and hit the fourth who went down. Turning around he noticed Artemis was there drawing back another arrow.

"I don't need your help." James said as he punched out the third.

"I know you don't, but I'm here anyways." Artemis said in her most placating tone of voice hoping he wouldn't take off again. Behind James the guy he just punched out was standing up groggily and reached into the back of his shirt to pull out a pistol. Before Artemis could call out the warning, James turned around and threw his arm back to push Artemis and himself on the wall as the gunman shot off two bullets. James was fast enough to throw an electric disk at the man before he could properly aim at him. The teens watched as the man convulsed and finally went down. James had a look of triumph on his face as he sighed in satisfaction. Turning around James walked over to the huddled body, and Artemis for the first time noticed it was a girl. She was probably no older than her; maybe two years give or take. From the looks of it, she was out having a fun night as she looked like she was dressed up, but looked like it was ruined since her dress was ripped, she was missing one shoe and her ,makeup was running.

"Thank you." The girl said as she gripped James's hand as if it was her only lifeline. James nodded his head and led the girl out into the open as he waved over two police officers walking the streets. As James left the girl to the police officers, he grabbed Artemis around the waste and grappled them on the rooftop so that they could run away.

When the two teens finally found a secluded place to sit and talk, it was more of idle chitchat than anything else. "So what do you want to talk about?" James asked while he leaned against a crate.

"I don't know, what do you want to talk about?" Artemis countered.

"Don't know, I kind of blew up back there didn't I?" James asked referring to when Black Canary and Green Arrow was with them.

"Yeah, but to be fair, you were right. You're a hero after all and it's not right that we tried to shelter you when you are perfectly fine."

"I'm glad that we got that out of the way." James said as he stood up and started walking back. "I should apologize to them."

"Nah, let it stew for a little bit longer, I am pretty sure you hit home on some stuff to them."

"Alright." James said as he went back to Artemis. "You know, this is the longest conversation we had since Gotham. Honestly speaking, when the Joker pointed that gun at you I wasn't afraid. I was just worried about you." James said without looking at the shocked yet touched look Artemis had on her face. "You know, I wasn't lying back there, that wasn't the first time I was shot." James said as he thought back to his old days. "I was on a mission, and this private was pinned down by enemy gunfire. He had already got shot in the leg and he couldn't move. In truth no one could get to him since if they tried they would either get pinned down as well or shot up. I tried and I was able to get to the private, got hit three times in the back trying to drag the guy out. I was half awake as I dragged the guy back to the squad and then I passed out. All I remember when I finally woke up, was how much it hurt like hell, I had to lie on a bed for three day s on my face before the holes started to heal." At the ending of his short story, James started to shed tears. "Artemis, I got shot….I got shot and I was afraid. For you, for me…I was afraid for the first time since I could remember. I couldn't believe that it was my second chance at a life and I nearly lost it barely after a month." Tears started to be shed liberally and James just crossed his arms and curled up. He then felt arms wrap around him. Looking up, it was Artemis as she tried to comfort him and he let her. Artemis wasn't the best at the whole comfort thing but she knew what the guy needed the most was someone who was there for him. They sat like that for another five minutes, James sitting there and Artemis trying to console him. After James relaxed and turned his face to Artemis, he noticed how close the two were. He could feel her breath and couldn't help himself as he inched towards her face. Artemis seeing this also could not help but feel the attraction as she inched her face forward and closing her eyes. They were almost making contact when both of them heard a voice in their earpiece which sent them jolting apart looking around.

"Green Arrow to Artemis, what is your situation?"

"Artemis to Green Arrow, I found Paladin and we are heading back."

"Alright, come back safe."

"Will do." Artemis then shut off her communication piece and held her hand out to James to get up. As the two walked away, Artemis just realized that they almost kissed. Looking at the teen she couldn't help but blush at the thought. Sure he was cute, and he had a lot of traits that she was attracted to, but she just never really thought about relationships until now. She had to admit, she fancied Conner, and Robin was a good friend, Wally was the ever annoying guy that she would like to punch in the face, and Kaldur….was Kaldur. James was a guy Artemis could not help but feel like she wouldn't mind spending some more quality time with. "You know, my mom has been asking about you." Artemis said which got a blush from James.

"Oh, and what did she want? James asked.

"She was wondering if you ever come back to Gotham if you wanted to have dinner at our place." Artemis could not fathom at how she was literally asking this guy to dinner. True it was her mother's idea but still.

"Sounds fun. When shall we do that then?" James said with a smile.

"I'll ask her."

"Alirght."

As Artemis and James reentered Mount Justice, they were met with by Green Arrow and Black Canary. Stepping away from Artemis, James walked up to the two league members and started to rub the back of his neck out of embarrassment. "I'm sorry." James then looked down in shame. What he didn't expect was a gentle hand being placed on his shoulder. Looking up his eyes met with Black Canary.

"I'm sorry as well. I keep forgetting that even if you look like this, you are actually older than me, and probably have more stories than you want to talk about."

"You're not wrong about that." James mumbled which got a laugh out of the woman. This heart to heart moment was interrupted when the bioship came rushing into the Cave and suddenly opening to an injured team the last being an unconscious Wally who was being carried by Conner. Everyone moved into action. Green Arrow called in Batman and Red Tornado for assistance while Black Canary directed Conner to the emergency room. Artemis and James went to the rest of the Team to learn just what happened.

"I don't know what happened." Robin started as he looked distraught at the unconscious body of his best friend as he was carried off by Superboy. "We were following a lead and we got ambushed by the League of Shadows. Next thing we knew we were faced off by 7 teenagers with weird weapons. We couldn't do anything against them, we had to retreat after Wally got seriously hurt and Aqualad got knocked out. After another moment the computer announced the entrance of the Dark Knight who made a beeline straight to Robin. James and Artemis retreated to look for the rest of the Team and see what they could do to help. It wouldn't an hour later when everything started to settle down, and the mentors of each Team member minus Superman (Superboy looked a little angry about that) were there comforting their respective protégé. Kid Flash was out of the emergency room but from the sounds of it had a hair line fracture which would heal quickly after a week of rest and a concussion. Everyone else had scrapes and bruises but nothing threatening. Once Batman got the full story from Robin he straightened up and looked at the collective group.

"We have a problem."

**A/N: For those who read my Naruto fic, don't worry it is coming back. I am almost done with the latest chapter.**


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